Fresh fruits and vegetables differ from processed produce in one important respect: They remain living organisms until consumed or cooked. As living tissues, they continue to respire, and to lose water in transpiration; they are subject to attack by microorganisms and to chemical and physiological changes. All contribute to gradual deterioration after harvest. Any handling procedure, including consumer packaging, should aim at retarding these processes without killing cells or damaging quality. Most important, only high quality produce should be packaged because packaging cannot improve initial quality (Fig. 1).