The Dog Days of Summer – Managing the Temp – Load Compatibility – Part 3

We are now fully into the dog days of summer; temperatures seem to be staying warm around the continent, and it reminds us of how important it is to manage the temperatures of the produce we carry! Now into the 3rd week of our series on Load Compatibility (take a look at 1 and 2!), we take a look at managing in-transit temperature settings of various fruits, vegetables, and nursery products. UWC has developed a brochure, entitled Product Temperature Guidelines, to assist our partners with this topic, which is especially important when dealing with mixer loads. Below an excerpt from the brochure that groups fruits, vegetables, and nursery products by their required transit conditions:

Transit Conditions of 32-36°F
Anise, Apples, Apricots, Artichokes, Asparagus,
Bean sprouts, Beets, Belgian endive, Blackberries, Blueberries, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts
Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Cherries, Corn
Daikon, Dry onions
Escarole
Flowers
Garlic, Grapes, Green onions
Kiwifruit, Kohlrabi
Leafy greens, Leeks, Lettuce
Mushrooms
Nectarines
Parsley, Parsnips, Peaches, Pears, Peas, Persimmons
Quince
Radicchio, Radishes, Raspberries, Rutabagas
Salad Mixes – Bagged, Snow peas, Spinach, Strawberries
Topped beets, Turnips

Transit Conditions of 37-41°F
Avocadoes
Cantaloupes, Clementin, Cranberries
Green beans
Honeydews
Kumquat
Mandarin
Oranges
Potatoes
Tangerines

Transit Conditions of 42-48°F
Grapefruit
Lemons, Limes
Potatoes, Peppers

Transit Conditions of 50-55°F
Chayote, Cucumber
Eggplant
Okra
Summer squash
Tomatoes
Watermelon

Transit Conditions of 55-60°F
Bananas, Bitter melon
Ginger root, Guava
Mangoes
Papayas, Pineapple, Plantain, Pumpkin
Tomatillos

Transit Conditions of 60-65°F
Nursery Product – potted plants

*Remember, all transit temperatures are subject to final approval by the owner of the product.

For more information, take a look at our Product Temperature Guidelines Brochure, available in English and Spanish. You can download the brochure off our website, or you can pick one up at our driver information board at TC Trans in Blaine, WA!!!

Question: are you enjoying the dog days of summer?? Our summer here at UWC has seen many of us take trips – things we have seen and places we have gone include: the Okanagan, Alaska, Las Vegas, Mexico, and Ecuador! Where have you been this summer?