How to Pack Fruits in Corrugated Boxes for Shipping

With the cold winter months coming to an end, nature is getting ready for a bountiful summer with loads of fresh fruits and vegetables. I am sure that most of you have relatives who have their own orchards and send over a lot of fruits to you. It is also possible that you might want to send over fruits to your children who are put up in hostels for pursuing education. The situation does not matter. What matters the most is the delivery of fruits in pristine condition, which can only be achieved through proper packaging. 

Most businesses have their own packaging process where they have an assembly line for packing fruits into customized shipping boxes. But as an individual or a small business, it would not be feasible for you to come up with such an infrastructure. The best way to send the produce safely is to prepare accordingly.

Preparations:

• Check the perishability of the items that you wish to ship. This would help you to understand the storage conditions during transit and the time frame within which the shipment needs to be delivered.

• Get the right packaging materials. By right materials, I mean the ones that will work perfectly with the items to ensure that nothing gets spoilt. Moreover, the materials should also be compatible with the specific storage conditions for the item.

• You might also want to take into consideration the permissible weight of the entire consignment. This would help you to choose between cardboard boxes and wooden crates. Do not worry about durability as this can be factored into the equation carefully by using various techniques.

• Always check with the local authorities for understanding the specific guidelines that have been laid down for shipments involving fruits and other perishables. 

The Packing Process

• The first thing that you need to do is to sort the good fruits from the bad ones. Since the transit involves a couple of days, it won’t be feasible for you to make any compromise at all. If you find fruits that have been bitten by bugs or they show signs of infection, then remove them from the lot lest the others should get contaminated with it. The best selection of fruits involves those which have just started to ripen. By the time the consignment is delivered, the fruits would have ripened completely and the recipient would get fresh products.

• Now, you need to use bubble wrap for wrapping each fruit individually so that damages from collision during movement may be reduced significantly. It is important to cut off the extra ends and seal them properly (as per requirement) to ensure that every fruit is kept safe. 

• With the fruits taken care of, you need to prepare the box. Wooden crates are good but they add a lot of weight to the consignment. You can use cardboard boxes as viable alternatives for it. In either case, the bottom of the box needs to be covered with shipping foam.

The addition of the shipping foam ensures less damage if the package is dropped by accident. Once the fruits have been placed in the box, cover the top and the void with more shipping foam. This should keep the fruits intact during the journey. 

• All that remains to be done now is to close the flaps / lids of the boxes and seal them with packing tape. Don’t forget to tape the seams and other open edges to prevent moisture from damaging the fruits. If it works out, then cover the final package with film or plastic sheet to ensure that no insects may enter the package and damage the produce. 

That should take care of the hassles of packaging. The most important step in the process is sorting the fruits because if any damaged fruit is allowed to remain in the box, then it could damage the other items in the consignment. With that taken care of, it is only a matter of minutes before the items are packed and loaded for shipment.