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How To Ship Avocados
There are several challenges in the shipping industry — especially when you’re dealing with perishable shipments. Shipping food is difficult because it’s more sensitive to extreme temperatures, moisture, and physical damage. When you’re shipping fruits, vegetables, and other foods, you need to make sure your shipment is properly protected from the elements.
If you’ve had trouble shipping avocados, you’re not alone. Avocados and other fruits are notoriously difficult to ship because they can spoil easily when they’re exposed to the elements. You also have to protect your avocados from getting crushed by other cargo, which can be a challenge with pallet or container shipping
Avocado Shipping Risks
Contamination
Spoiling
Physical Damage
Can You Safely Ship Avocados?
Food is difficult to ship — especially when you’re shipping it a long distance. That being said, you can absolutely ship avocados if you protect them properly. Tons of avocados are shipped all over the world each year, giving people everywhere easy access to this delicious fruit.
The key to shipping avocados is protecting them from the elements. Moisture can cause serious issues when you’re shipping avocados, and extreme temperatures can speed up the spoiling process. Using protective liners, blankets, or pallet covers can protect against moisture and extreme temperatures, but it’s also important to pack your avocados properly.
Helping Everyone to Enjoy Delicious, Fresh Produce, all Year Round
What to Consider When You Ship Avocados
Avocados — like most fruits and vegetables — are strongly affected by extreme temperatures. When you’re shipping avocados a long distance, changing weather means they may be exposed to extreme temperatures.
We mentioned earlier how moisture can cause Listeria to permeate the skin of an avocado and contaminate the inside, and that’s definitely something you want to avoid. Using insulation to protect your cargo helps keep some of the moisture out, but it’s also important to pack your avocados the right way from the beginning. Your avocados need to be packed in special containers that are designed for refrigerated fruits and vegetables. These trays allow air to circulate through your avocado shipment, which helps maintain lower temperatures and protect against moisture.
There are several things to consider when you’re choosing packing materials for an avocado shipment. We just mentioned how you need to use fruit crates or cartons to protect your avocados from moisture and extreme temperatures. If you’re using any packing materials to protect against physical damage, they need to be food-safe. Biodegradable packing materials are a great choice if you want to protect the environment and your avocado shipment.
Avocados are a lot harder to ship long distances, so shipping time is a big factor to consider. If you’re shipping avocados across the world, you should ship them early on in the ripening process and use a refrigerated container to keep them from getting spoiled. If you’re shipping avocados a short distance with a shipping container, they shouldn’t spoil as long as you use an insulated cover or liner.
The shipping method you choose has a significant effect on the overall shipping process and what you need to do to protect your shipment. If you’re shipping avocados on a pallet, they need to be packed in crates and properly secured to keep the pallet from tipping over. If you’re shipping avocados using a shipping container, you need protection for the entire container. You also have to factor in the estimated time based on the shipping method you choose. The more money you’re willing to spend on expedited shipping, the faster your shipment may arrive.