Produce Handling Guide
Receiving, recovery, and rotation behaviors drive most of the variation in produce shrink. This guide aligns your back-of-house handling with the practices that protect quality and margin.
Receiving inspection — the first 30 minutes
The first 30 minutes after delivery shape the rest of the SKU's shelf life. Verify counts, grade, pulp temperature, and case condition. Document any issues within the supplier-agreed window.
Cold-chain recovery
Move product to the appropriate cooler zone within the first two hours. Tropical SKUs are especially sensitive to chilling injury — confirm zone temperatures before staging.
Rotation and front-of-house handoff
FIFO rotation is the single highest-impact behavior for reducing shrink. Train staff on ripeness signals so customer-facing handling matches species expectations.
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Our sales desk responds within the business hour with current availability, pallet pricing, and weekly delivery timing across Florida and the continental U.S.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How fast should we recover cold-chain after a delivery?
- Within the first two hours, with verification that destination zone temperatures match the species-appropriate range.
- Who should own receiving inspection?
- Assign a named receiving lead per shift. Single-point accountability reduces missed defects and unfiled claims.
Related guides
- Buyer EducationProduce Storage GuideStorage practices determine shrink, shelf life, and customer-facing quality. Use this guide to align your back-of-house storage with the species-appropriate ranges for tropical and conventional produce.
- Buyer EducationProduce Merchandising GuideMerchandising converts good assortment into measurable category growth. Use this guide to plan set design, signage, cross-merchandising, and promotional execution.
- Buyer EducationWholesale Produce Logistics GuideLogistics determines whether produce arrives in spec — or in shrink. This guide outlines how La Queen Produce handles cold-chain, consolidation, and delivery, and what buyers should expect from a serious wholesale partner.
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Talk to our sales desk for current pallet pricing, weekly availability, and delivery scheduling.