Rib damage due to rough handling does not appear to be a factor

 either. One medium-sized firm in Boston said that Florida celery

 usually had more cut and bruised ribs, but a large firm in Philadelphia

 felt that Florida had less damage than other areas. All others indi-

 cated that there were no appreciable differences among growing areas

 and no particular problems with rib damage.

 Uneven rib length due to trimming tops at an angle does not seem

 to be a problem. There were no major criticisms of the uniformity

 of rib length. One executive in Philadelphia said that his firm had

 encountered problems with unevenly trimmed Florida celery, but another

 in Philadelphia said he had more problems with California celery. The

 other firms had no complaints.

 Insect damage is extremely rare according to those interviewed.

 Although it does infrequently result in problems, all celery-growing

 areas are affected, and there are no particular insect problems associ-

 ated with Florida celery.

 Cleanliness and overall arrival condition were found to be similar

and satisfactory for celery from Florida and California. Several firms

reported occasional problems from both areas, but none viewed either

factor as serious or persistent.

Count and Uniformity

 All those interviewed were asked if there were celery ship-
ments where containers had an incorrect number of stalks, and if

there was any appreciable difference in these occurrences between

Florida and California shipments. This was naturally of most