Facility
The Oxnard Lemon Company packing facility, with 250,000 square
feet of space, is one of the largest single lemon packing
facilities in California and Arizona. Over 4.5 million carton
units are handled through the facility each year, with nearly
2.5 million cartons shipped out fresh. Oxnard Lemon Company
packs fruit Monday through Friday, 52 weeks a year, with
a double shift usually from April through August.
Process
When fruit is ready to pack, it is taken out of the long-term
storage and run onto the packing line. The lemons are again
cleaned and sanitized and waxed to prevent shrinkage and
ensure freshness. All products applied to the lemons are
food grade products. The lemons are sorted electronically
based on exterior appearance – Sunkist grade (first),
choice grade (second), standard grade (third), and products
grade. The fruit in each grade classification is then electronically
sized and filled into cartons. When filled, the cartons are
sealed, palletized, and put into the shipping cooler.
Packing Equipment
The packing area is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art
equipment, including:
* Sunkist Color and Blemish Grader – 16 lanes
* Sunkist Decay Detection Unit – 16 lanes
* Sunkist EPS-II Electronic Sizers
* Automatic carton formers and carton delivery system to
fillers
* Sinclair label machines for applying stickers – no
ink stamp on stickered fruit
* GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) sticker on each container
for improved product traceability
* Compliance with industry PTI (Product Traceability Initiative)
Adding to the value of the product are bagging machines
and the capability to do special packaging (i.e. Returnable
Plastic Containers (RPCs), consumer cartons, clamshells,
family packs, etc.) Bag and specialty pack orders are prepared
as close to the shipment time as possible to ensure the
freshest fruit vitality.
Long-Term Cold Storage
Over 500,000 cartons of fruit can be stored in the long-term
storage. The storage is generally full from February
through June of each year. The average temperature in
the long-term cold storage is 50 degrees F. In addition
to the cold storage, space is also available for sweating
and gassing of fruit if needed.
