United Fresh & the USDA have partnered to bring the industry the "Produce Inspection Training Program."  This specialized training course is developed into two courses: Introduction to Produce Inspection and Advanced Produce Inspection.  The introductory course is a classroom based program that covers the fundamentals of produce inspections such as grading, standards, tolerances, PACA, and sampling procedures.  The 3-day advanced course focuses on hands-on commodity inspections in the lab. Each advanced course includes inspection of the five most commonly requested commodities: Grapes, Lettuces, Potatoes, Strawberries, and Tomatoes. Plus, in addition to these five, each course will be customized with up to ten additional commodities based on the attendees’ most common preferences.

“I came away with a better understanding of inspection procedures and tolerances, which has helped our operations tremendously. I strongly recommend this program to others, regardless of their present level of experience.”  - Jim Balaguer, Produce Quality Assurance for Sysco Corporation, 2007 Program attendee.

The following course options are available in 2008 & 2009:

This unique program is designed to provide real, hands-on instruction from USDA experts to anyone involved in the produce supply chain - grower to retailer - if you receive, handle, buy, ship, or sell produce - this course is for you.   Sign up today to become more proficient and knowledgeable about quality control standards, inspection grading, USDA produce procedures and requirements, and much more!