The facts about bruise damage:

• The physics behind bruise damage to fruit and vegetables have been well documented by agricultural and packaging engineers over the past 20 years. [See research reference list]
• Research has determined that the severity and frequency of bruise damage depends on 2 important criteria…

1. Force (or maximum acceleration) of the impact (G)
2. Duration (or velocity change) of the impact (m/s)

• Force (G) measurements alone do not accurately predict severity or likelihood of bruise damage.
  
  

Why are force and velocity change both important?

• Each fruit and vegetable has unique characteristics, which determine how it will respond to impact forces on various surfaces.
• For most fruits and vegetables that have been investigated, the response curve looks like this:
  
  
  
  
• The Damage Boundary is not flat with respect to force (G).
  
  
• In this figure, the 2 impacts described above, A and B, are on opposite sides of the damage boundary. 

Please also visit Dr. Gary Hyde's website at the Washington State University Department of Biological Systems Engineering for more information on the science and engineering of bruise and bruise reduction.