More About Growing & Harvesting California Cantaloupes
When you buy a California cantaloupe, you can rest assured that the fruit was grown and harvested in the safest conditions possible.
From the field to your table, California cantaloupes go through the strictest safety guidelines to keep you and your family healthy. That’s because California cantaloupes are supervised under the only mandatory food safety program in the U.S. produce industry. In fact, California cantaloupe producers invite government auditors to inspect cantaloupe operations every step of the way — from the field and harvest to the packinghouse and cooler.
If you’re buying cantaloupes between April and December, chances are you’re buying a California-grown melon. California’s long growing season and fertile fields ensure three harvest periods: From April to early July, your cantaloupe comes from the hot and dry southern desert region of California. During June to October, cantaloupes come from a 200-mile area on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that stretches from Sacramento to Bakersfield. From mid-October to early December, the harvest moves back to the southern desert region.
It takes 75 to 100 growing days for a plant to bear enough fruit to harvest. Harvest lasts from 14-21 days per field, and it’s quite a bit of work: Starting in the early morning, around 6 a.m., the crews enter the field after following sanitizing procedures, then harvest the melons by ripeness and size.
The melons can be tracked by the label and stamp on the box they are placed in, which indicates the field they came from, which crew picked them and packed them, the date they were packed, the company that packed them, and the shipper that moved them to your grocery store. This tracking has been in place since the late 1990’s when the FDA put in place an initiative to improve food safety and reduce the occurrence of food born illnesses.
All California cantaloupe producers follow safety procedures and welcome government auditors to make sure they are compliant. The result is that you, the consumer, can enjoy that wonderful, juicy fruit knowing you’re eating the safest cantaloupe you can buy.
To learn more about harvesting be sure to check out the California Cantaloupe website!
Click here to learn more about harvesting: http://bit.ly/howwegrow
