on celery from the two growing areas. Furthermore, 12 respondents

had no strong feelings either way about Florida leaf quantity, as

shown by the neutral responses in Table 11. While eight of those

interviewed were negative toward the amount of leaves, two were

quite positive, as reflected in their comments.

 Other comments from respondents expressing a neutral attitude

toward Florida celery leaf quantity show that many retailers believe

that having leaves on celery is important to consumers for appearance

and appeal. Moreover, some retail store produce managers in Phila-

delphia and Boston stated that some of .their customers used the

leaves for cooking. These were from stores located in older neighbor-

hoods, with a high proportion of certain ethnic groups. Store produce

managers in shopping centers in newer residential areas generally

stated that most shoppers there were younger and were less interested
in having leaves on celery. These same consumers were judged by

retailers to be more likely to accept celery stalks shorter than 14

inches if such lengths were offered. In this regard, one Detroit

retailer stated that California celery was often so long that no leaves

were left when the product was trimmed to desired length for retail

sale. Retailer reaction to celery length is also discussed in the

section on packaging.


Leaf quality


 Nearly all (17 of 22) of the retailers and wholesalers responding

to questions concerning leaf characteristics stated there was no

difference between the quality of leaves on Florida celery and those

on celery from California (Table 12). In addition, two respondents

stated that Florida leaf quality was higher.