The Secret to Heinen’s Fresh, Long Lasting Produce
In our Produce Department, we take pride in sourcing the largest and highest quality selection of fresh fruits and vegetables.
You’ll notice the quality not just by the appearance of the produce in our stores, but by how long it lasts when you bring it home. From lettuces and herbs to apples and stone fruit, there’s a reason why our produce lasts longer, and it starts with our attention to temperature.
From our farmers, to our Produce Buyers and Inspectors, to our in-store Produce Associates, we go the extra mile to care for our fresh produce along its journey to your basket.
Discover our secrets for ensuring that the produce you buy from Heinen’s stays fresher longer!
From the Farm to our Warehouse
We start monitoring the temperature of our produce from the moment it is picked and packed by our growers. When it arrives to our warehouse, we receive a full update on the temperature in the truck to guarantee that our produce was safely refrigerated throughout its entire journey.
Produce grown on local and Midwest farms often arrives to our warehouse within hours of being picked, making its time in transport very short and its freshness even better!
At Our Warehouse
Once it passes our strict inspection, we transfer the fresh produce to the right cooler at the right time so it always remains at its optimal temperature.
Our goal is to get this fresh produce to our stores as quickly as possible, so it doesn’t live at the warehouse long! We delicately pack our produce on temperature-regulated trucks and make deliveries to our stores daily!
At Our Stores and in Your Basket
Temperature regulation is just as important at our stores as it is at our warehouse, so we’ve educated our Produce Associates on our strict standards to continue to raise the bar on our produce experience.
They swiftly place the produce in our store coolers upon delivery, then transfer the items to the Produce Department to preserve the flavor and integrity of each item.
Once on display in our stores, our associates check the produce for freshness regularly to guarantee that the selection is the best.
Take our apples for example! While you may keep your apples on the counter, apples are actually best stored in a cool, refrigerated environment to maintain their moisture and crunch. You’ll rarely see our apples displayed on dry tables; instead, we’ve invested in refrigerated cases to keep our apples fresh and crisp longer.
The next time you shop Heinen’s Produce Department, you can be assured that we’ve cared for each fruit and veggie from the farm to your basket.
Click here for tips on properly storing fresh produce at home.
Interested in learning more about our Produce Department?
- Click here to learn about our strict inspection process.
- Click here to discover our three favorite. made-in-house produce items.
