Produce

Red pepper

2007-08-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Red Pepper

Usage: peppers are used a lot in spices, salsas and more!

Health benefits: Red peppers are beneficial in vitamin C usually providing 134% of a daily daily...

Storage: Red pepper is stored in cardboard boxes that are not biodegradable. They are taken from the box and stored in the freezer room. Peppers are unlikely to be contaminated due to the fact that you dont usually eat the outside of the pepper anyways.!

Yellow Squash

2007-08-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yellow Squash

Usage: Is eaten, is a summer type of squash.

Storage: yellow squash is stored in the freezer of a produce department and is usually contaminated by dirt; due to harvesting techniques. The squash is washed off by the supermarket thanksfully!

Health: Yellow squash is considered a delicacy and is very high on some vitamines and minerals. A good snack for dieters.

Plum Tomato

2007-08-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Usage: Used a lot for sauce and pastes; a great eat in many cases...

Health Benefits: Plum Tomatoes carry the same great benefits and possibly more as regular tomatoes; and are low in calories but high in benefit.

Storage: Plum tomatoes are very unlikely to be contaminated due to their proper storage procedures... Shrinx and losses run high on this though; they only last a week after we get them and can vary in sales by week...

Red Onion

2007-08-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Red Onions

Varieties: Is a variety of an onion

Usage: Red onions are used for spicing up a dish most of the time... Red onions are commonly used in hamburgers and hoagies!

Health: Red onions are very good for our health... Providing age defying (or so they say) ingredients...

Storage: Red onions are stored in dry places inside mesh bags just like other onions and can be contaminated depending on storage locations; since the bag is always permeable

Plantains

2007-08-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Plantains

This plant is like a banana but much bigger and of different yet similar taste...

Storage: Plantains are stored with the bananas and are very unlikely to be contaminated...

Health:Good source of vitamins eat 1 a day if wanted

Mint: the herb

2007-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Varieties: over 22 varieties of mint including marsh mint, asian mint, forest mint, and much more.

Usage: Mints are used for so many reason; aside from that minty taste it can add to foods including chocalates, mint is used a lot in cosmetics (including smell)..

Storage: Mint is shipped to us from the farm, i am not sure of its location but i think its from the United States. Mint is stored in cardboard boxes that are iced so the mint wont dry out. They are a little bit likely to be contaminated because they are stored in a refridgerated room; usually under the actually refridgerator which drips water into the product, fortunately ever since ive became produce manager i stopped it...

Health: Mint is relatively not needed for health but claims to have some properties such as healing...

Buy produce online

2007-08-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

Fruits and vegetables
You can buy produce online easily at this link

Strawberries

2007-08-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Varieties: main: garden strawberry, many genetically enginered ones. more than 20 different species

Health: Strawberries are very good for you. they contain Vitamin C in high amounts they are also filled with unusual phytonutrients that love to promote your health.

Storage: Strawberries come from local NJ where i am and i imagine some are even imported from New Jersey. At the supermarket they are unlikely to be contaminated because they are in a box all by themselves, strawberry touching only strawberry.

MY FAVORITE FRUIT AS OF NOW!

Yellow Onion

2007-08-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Varieties: Yellow onion also called dry onion (small, med., large)

storage: we grow these mainly locally so we have many of them in stock. They are unlikely to be contaminated and since you dont eat them raw anyway, onions have basically no risk. Onions are stored on the dry shelf at the supermarket

Health: onions are high in vitamins...One a day..

Bananas

2007-08-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Banana

Varieties: Cavendish(main kind in a supermarket), Plaintain, African...

Usage: Bananas are pretty much only used for eating, they can be eating raw, fried, and even put on your cereal or banana split!

Where is it from? Bananas come from foreign countries most of the time, from mexico, columbia, many african nations and more. Bananas are not likely to be contaminated since they are exported in cardboard boxes and have the protective skin covering the actual fruit...All bad bananas are destroyed at the point of harvesting.

Health benefits: Bananas are best known for their pottassium. Bananas do have many vitamins though and it is good to eat 2 a day...

The tomato

2007-08-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

Varieties: On the vine, Ugly tomatoes, plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes, Domestic tomato

Usage: Tomatoes have such a wide varieity of uses: which include: Food usage: in ketchup, raw, used to spice up sandwiches, tomato sauce and more!

Health effects of tomatoes: TOmatoes are a good source of vitamins but arent the best vegetable for the job.

Carrots

2007-08-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Varieties:Eastern Carrot, western Carrot, Some novelty carrots (genetically eng.)

Use: carrots are eating whole, chopped, and even drunk in many common Vegetables Juices.

Health: Carrots have lots of vitamins and are great for your sense of vision as a lack of vitamin A will make you have worse vision. carrots are sometimes used to treat digestive problems too.

Storage: Carrots come from the ground and are likely to be contaminated by dirt no matter what, so always wash the carrots. The carrots are stored in the store in big cardboard crates, we put them out on top of the lettuce. Carrots are good for not being contaminated except by dirt.

Cilantro (or coriander)

2007-08-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Varieties: over 100 varieties including mexican cilantro, chinese, flat cilantro etc.

Uses: cooking and eating, spicing up food.

Where stored? Bought from?: The cilantro herb is picked from a field and packaged tightly in 30 packed boxes. cilantro is one of my favorite herbs for this reason as when you open the box a nice relaxing cilantro scent pours out. It is very enjoyable. When we get the cilantro we store it in the refridgerator which keeps it cool and in good condition though the boxes collect lots of condensation.

Health: Is said to be able to treat insomnia nad is diuetic.

Yams (sweet potatoes)

2007-08-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

Varieties: White Yam and Yellow Yam (also known as sweet potato)
the chinese yam, the oposita and a lot more.

Uses: cooked and eaten. Important to most africans.

Where is it stored?and bought from?: Yams are usually stored in the warm area of the produce department. Yam originally starts being picked from the ground as they grow in the grown hence the meaning Tubers. yams are picked then sent to the market in huge crates or cardboard boxes in which the distributor seperates the ones with higher quality and sends them to us, where we store them in the dry room. Yams are very unlikely to be contaminated for this reason, once we put them out they are usually gone in 3 days anyway.

Nutritional info: Yams are high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese; while being low in saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol. Vitamin C, dietary fiber and Vitamin B6 may all promote good health. They are definitally good for diets.

Celery

2007-08-01T22:04:00.001-07:00

Varieties:Stalk celery, leaf celery, russian celery. all very similar

Uses: Used a lot for dieting. seeds are used for making perfume and cosmetics.

Where is it stored?: Celery is usually shipped to us inside crates and a further step, they are inside their own packaging...We do not recieve bulk celery but i know of some stores that do. Celery is sometimes picked by foreign laborers.

Oil of plant is actually used for relieving urinary tract infections...but warning dont use if your pregnant.

Oranges

2007-07-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Varieties: Tangerines, Navel, Clementines, Etc.

Uses: You can eat this raw, tastes nice.

Where it comes from: Most oranges in U.S. supermarkets come from Florida, california and if its a bad season, Mexico.

Where is it stored?: it is stored in the same place as the limes and lemons, thereby making it less suspectible to contamination. They come in huge cardboard packages containing 100 or more.

Oranges are good for health too providing vitamin C and antioxidants

Limes

2007-07-30T22:34:00.001-07:00

Varieties: Limes come in many varieties which include the key lime, persian lime, australian limes and much more usually only differing in bitterness.

Uses: In drinks
In cooking

Eat it raw? i have tried eating it raw and it is actually plausible, although i suggest squeezing it into your coke instead!

Where it comes from: I work in the produce department of a supermarket so i can answer questions like that. Limes come from Mexico, middle U.S. and some from the middle east when supplies are low in mexico...

Where is it stored in produce depots and supermarkets? Limes are probably the least likely fruit besides bananas to be contaminated or harmful to eat. Limes are stored in large bins taking from the harvesting field until brought by truck to a proccessing plant which puts them in cardboard boxes that we the produce dep. workers store in a refrigerated room; where it remains uncontaminated. Limes also take a while to rot, and usually are off the shelf before they do 99% of time...

Limes are a good choice for Health too; as it can stabilize acids in the stomach for some people...

See ya later, Jak

The lemon

2007-07-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a hybrid in cultivated wild plants. It is the common name for the reproductive tissue surrounding the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The fruit is used primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used, primarily in cooking and baking. Lemon juice is about 5% acid, which gives lemons a tart taste, and a pH of 2 to 3. This makes lemon juice an inexpensive, readily available acid for use in educational science experiments.

DESCRIPTION:A lemon tree can reach a height of 10 meters (33 feet), although the average tree is generally smaller. The branches are thorny, and form an open crown. The leaves are green, shiny and elliptical-acuminate. Flowers are white on the outside with a violet streaked interior and have a strong fragrance. The fruit grows underneath the flowers; as the flower petals fall away, a small green nub is left behind, which matures into the fruit. On a healthy lemon tree, flowers and ripe fruits can often be found at the same time.[1]

Lemon fruit are ovoid with a pointed tip at the end. When ripe, they have a bright yellow skin, a layer of pith underneath and a paler yellow segmented interior. Small seeds commonly known as 'pips' are found within the fruit.

Taste: a lemon tastes pretty varied, it has much sourness and is related to the orange and the lime.

Chemistry:Lemons and other citrus fruits contain vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the health. A terpene called D-limonene produces their characteristic lemon smell and taste. Lemons contain significant amounts of citric acid; this is why they have a low pH and a sour taste. They contain Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) which is essential for human health. 100 milliliters of lemon juice contains approximately 50 milligrams of Vitamin C (55% of the recommended daily value) and 5 grams of citric acid.

Lemons can be processed to extract oils and essences.

HEALTH BENEFITS:Some sources state that lemons contain unique flavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties.[3] These may be able to deter cell growth in cancers. Limonins found in lemons could also be anti-carcinogens.

Because of its high Vitamin C content, lemon has been touted in alternative medicine as a tonic for the digestive system, immune system, and skin.[citation needed]

There is a belief in Ayurvedic medicine that a cup of hot water with lemon juice in it tonifies and purifies the liver.

In a Japanese study into the effects of aromatherapy, lemon essential oil in vapour form has been found to reduce stress in mice.