GRADING

	Inspection in packing house Our fern leaves are hand-graded into three different lengths and then grouped into bunches of 20 leaves each. At the customer's request and for a small additional cost, the sized bunches may be individually covered with a clear plastic sleeve. The bunches are packaged in corrugated cardboard boxes and refrigerated for shipping either by air cargo or by ocean freight in 40 foot refrigerated containers.
	Packing procedure The leather leaf fern is packed immediately after pre-cooling, while personnel perform one final inspection of the product.
	Quality control Our leatherleaf fern is shipped free of injury, diseases and pests. The fronds are clean and free of soil and any debris. Each frond in a given bunch is of uniform size and color and at the same relative stage of maturity. After harvesting, our fern leaves are moistened and precooled to 34º-40º F (1.1º - 4.4º C). This is accomplished by placing bulk lots of ferns in cold water in the field and also upon arrival in the packing plant. The leaves are then meticulously hand sorted and graded and formed into bunches of 20 stems each. Before packaging the bunches and stems are reviewed by Quality Control personnel.