All fruit in store should remain above the minimum quality standards required by the customer and have sufficient quality to allow for a seven day shelf life. WFL-Qualytech minimum standards are given in Table 27, but you should consult with your own marketing desk at the beginning of the season to ensure that information available is the most up to date.
Table 27. WFL-Qualytech minimum fruit quality standards. Firmness is defined in terms of an average for 10 apples and the minimum recorded for any of the individual apples within a 10-fruit sample
| Variety |
Background colour Card 1, green-4, yellow |
Firmness (kg) Electronic penetrometer |
Soluble solids (%) Refractometer |
| Cox | Green-light green (1-2) |
Mean 6.5 Min. 5.8 |
>12 |
| Gala | Light green-light yellow (2-3) |
Mean 6.2 Min. 5.8 |
>11.5 |
| Jonagold | Green-light green (1-2) |
Mean 6.0 Min. 5.5 |
>12 |
| Braeburn | Light green-light yellow (2-3) |
Mean 7.2 Min. 6.7 |
>11.5 |
| Bramley | Green-light green (1-2) |
Mean 6.5 Min. 5.5 |
>12 |
During the establishment of storage conditions Cox fruits may lose 0.5 to 1.0 kg in firmness. Subsequently the rate of softening in store depends on the oxygen level, the lower the level below 3% the slower the rate. Generally the following rates of softening have been found for Cox stored at 3.5oC:
| Gas regime | Rate of softening |
| 5% CO2 + 3% O2 | 0.3-0.4 kg per month |
| <1% CO2 + 2% O2 | 0.2-0.3 kg per month |
| <1% CO2 + 1.2% O2 | 0.1-0.2 kg per month |