Quality & Freshness
A tradition of caring.
From the beginning in 1949, Milton E. Knouse had a clear understanding of the business
that still bears his name: "First of all, we believe that all future success - all
future growth of Knouse Foods - depends upon our ever-increasing output of highest
quality foods. This is the fundamental principle around which revolve all other
basic factors in the prosperity of the company and its members."
Those words, taken from the first published statement of the company's objectives,
reveal how quality came to be built into every step of our process… from delivery
of fresh fruit to our plants by quality-oriented growers… to processing and
shipment
of finished goods by quality-oriented employees… to the faithful customers who have
come to expect quality products.
Yes, quality fruit, processing and inspection is present in every container of product
packed by Knouse Foods. That's because every container of product is important,
as is every customer who enjoys our products and looks for the Musselman's, Lucky
Leaf, Apple Time, Lincoln and Speas Farm logos of quality on their store shelves.
Peach Glen Controlled Atmosphere Storage (You're Getting Ver-r-ry Sleepy…)
Apples are Living, Breathing objects...even after they are harvested.
This means they need to take in oxygen to survive. But here's where it gets tricky:
As an apple's oxygen level increases, so does its respiration and metabolism rates
… which, unfortunately, shortens the apple's storage life.
The solution? For Knouse Foods it was the construction of a state-of-the-art, 80,000
square foot storage facility in Peach Glen, PA. It contains 18 Controlled Atmosphere
(CA) rooms, which enable us to regulate temperature and humidity, as well as oxygen
and carbon dioxide content.
In these CA rooms, we are able to "put apples to sleep" under conditions that allow
them to retain the crisp, juicy, flavorful attributes of apples for up to a year
after they have been harvested. When we take them out of storage to make apple sauce,
apple juice and other unrivaled apple products, it's as if they've just been plucked
from the branch!
Each of the CA rooms are 2,746 square feet and can hold 31 tractor trailer loads of apples
per room, allowing for total CA storage of 558,000 bushels.
The bottom line? Knouse has an incredible capacity for preserving the best qualities
of the world's most delicious apples. Of course, you probably already suspected
that.