# Why are produce boxes made by idiots? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787 "2011-02-18T05:28:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/21 "2011-02-19T01:25:07Z")
I must agree with Suranyi about self checkout. They are a pain to pick off, but how wonderful not to have to _talk to anyone_ at the grocery store! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/22 "2011-02-19T01:46:15Z")
The things I learn here - quite interesting about the boxes. I thought the fruit stickers were, or are going to be, made from cornstarch so theyā€™d dissolve. (and theyā€™ve been around long enough that I would feel funny about buying a piece of produce w/o a sticker, like it was ā€˜wildā€™, or uninspected. or something. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/23 "2011-02-19T02:56:59Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I was a checker at Safeway for a few years then worked in produce for a couple more. I agree the stickers serve a useful purpose because you definitely donā€™t want to get one wrong, especially when some things like tomatoes can go up to $3.99/lb+. > > OTOH common things you see every other customer all day every day you quickly learn by heart. Even though itā€™s been over a decade since I had that job Iā€™ll never forget the codes for cucumbers (4062), bananas (4011), oranges, lettuce, grapes, 6 or 7 types of apples, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. Thereā€™s no reason for there to a be sticker on red delicious apples (4016) or roma tomatoes (4087). **Shit youā€™re not going to use the skin or outside parts like cantaloupe (4050) or red onions (4082) who gives a fuck but no one wants to be peeling stickers off of plums or peppers. Other things that are less common, thereā€™s a book of PLUā€™s in each checkstand so you can look up endives or rutabagas or whatever**. Basically my point. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/24 "2011-02-19T03:29:35Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Pee-shaw. > > I was a grocery clerk 30 years ago, pre-sticker (and pre-scanner, for that matter). Part of my job was to learn the difference between yer Boscs and yer Dā€™Anjous and yer Bartletts. There arenā€™t _that_ many more varieties than there are now. > > And really, your argument is pretty weak: stickers to differentiate green, red, yellow, brown, and purple peppers? :smack: > mmm I certainly didnā€™t mean to imply that someone bright enough to be trusted with a cash register would be unable to differentiate between, say, red and yellow bell peppers; what I meant was, _in addition to_ the fact that there are four different colors of bell peppers, each individual color has subsets: Organic red bell peppers, locally grown red bell peppers, standard red bell peppers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/25 "2011-02-19T05:25:47Z")
Joey P, thanks for the info about the boxes. I knew those holes served a purpose, I just didnā€™t know exactly what. I donā€™t have any control over what cases I get. My purveyor switches from one grower/packer to the next as various growing regions go in and out of season. For example, Avocados are a disaster right now because Chili is finishing their season, and Californiaā€™s output isnā€™t good this year, leaving Mexico to pick up all the slack. As for produce stickers, and checkers knowing the numbers? That is their job. They should know the numbers. And a couple Dopers have demonstrated that they generally do know them. > [@suranyi](#): > > Itā€™s helpful now that thereā€™s self-service checkout. Without the stickers Iā€™d be paging through pictures of various kinds of produce until I found the one I had. Doesnā€™t your self-checkout system have a look-up-by-name feature? I hit that button, then type Z-Uā€¦ then press zucchini. or B-Uā€¦ and press the picture of the butternut squash. Its pretty convenient. They even have pictures of the donuts, so its not just for produce! ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/26 "2011-02-19T15:35:29Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I was a checker at Safeway for a few years then worked in produce for a couple more. I agree the stickers serve a useful purpose because you definitely donā€™t want to get one wrong, especially when some things like tomatoes can go up to $3.99/lb+. > > OTOH common things you see every other customer all day every day you quickly learn by heart. Even though itā€™s been over a decade since I had that job Iā€™ll never forget the codes for cucumbers (4062), bananas (4011), oranges, lettuce, grapes, 6 or 7 types of apples, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. Thereā€™s no reason for there to a be sticker on red delicious apples (4016) or roma tomatoes (4087). Shit youā€™re not going to use the skin or outside parts like cantaloupe (4050) or red onions (4082) who gives a fuck but no one wants to be peeling stickers off of plums or peppers. Other things that are less common, thereā€™s a book of PLUā€™s in each checkstand so you can look up endives or rutabagas or whatever. Are you forgetting that grocery stores tend to have very high turnover? Sure you can memorize most of the common stuff in a few months, but it seems like every time I got to my local store thereā€™s at least a few new cashiers there. Now, most of the stores Iā€™ve been to have some type of ā€œcheat sheetā€ that lists all the produce and codes, but it can take longer to pull it out and look it up than it does to glance down at what youā€™re ringing it up and get the code off the sticker. If it gets me out of the store a few minutes faster I think the stickers are a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/27 "2011-02-19T17:30:44Z")
OP, Iā€™ll see your citrus boxes and raise you a 50-pound potato box. A 50-pound box that is big and awkward. And has no handles whatsoever. Or if there are handles, theyā€™re cut so close to the top edge that the rip out almost immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/28 "2011-02-19T18:19:02Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > OP, Iā€™ll see your citrus boxes and raise you a 50-pound potato box. > > A 50-pound box that is big and awkward. And has no handles whatsoever. > > Or if there are handles, theyā€™re cut so close to the top edge that the rip out almost immediately. 50# Potato boxes are nothing. Iā€™ve been throwing those up on my shoulder since I was a wee lad. Whatā€™s always killed me was 50# bags of potatoes. Getting a grip on those is even harder. Even worse is those mesh bags of onions. Having to move 30 bags of those from one pallet to another will make your knuckles nice and raw. And bags in general donā€™t stack well on a hand truck. Itā€™s really annoying to get a 6 bags all stack up only to have them all buckle as soon as you attempt to tip it back. ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/29 "2011-02-19T20:23:59Z")
Interesting, While I have dealt with produce and their packaging for 30+ years, it never occurred to me to bitch about it. Not that the complaints arent valid, they are. Its just that I always had so many balls in the air, that I was happy enough just to get my product on time and in good condition. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/30 "2011-02-19T22:19:58Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > Doesnā€™t your self-checkout system have a look-up-by-name feature? I hit that button, then type Z-Uā€¦ Zucchini is easy to find. Small yellow onions, peeled takes a while. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/31 "2011-02-20T04:38:03Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I certainly didnā€™t mean to imply that someone bright enough to be trusted with a cash register would be unable to differentiate between, say, red and yellow bell peppers; what I meant was, _in addition to_ the fact that there are four different colors of bell peppers, each individual color has subsets: Organic red bell peppers, locally grown red bell peppers, standard red bell peppers, etc. Hey, we canā€™t discriminate against the colorblindā€¦ theyā€™re specially-abled. Red and green are just grey, or something like that, to them. (not meant to disparage the colorblind, merely a sarcastic observation) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/32 "2011-02-20T09:48:59Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > Hey, we canā€™t discriminate against the colorblindā€¦ theyā€™re specially-abled. Red and green are just grey, or something like that, to them. > > (not meant to disparage the colorblind, merely a sarcastic observation) I donā€™t think Iā€™d buy _grey_ bell peppers! šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/33 "2011-02-20T10:05:20Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I donā€™t think Iā€™d buy _grey_ bell peppers! > > šŸ˜› What if they were in the 50% off bin? The people that shop in my store will buy _anything_ if itā€™s 50% offā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![santiago42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@santiago42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santiago42)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787/34 "2011-02-22T06:46:42Z")
I work for a major courier company in Canada, and I daily see boxes that are completely useless for what they are being used for. A client told me once that the decision about what kind of boxes are to be used is all too often made by an accountant in head office, based purely on cost, not on whatā€™s best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-produce-boxes-made-by-idiots/571787.md?page=1)