Pears in clamshells at retail About 40 percent of d’Anjou pears from the Pacific Northwest are conditioned before they reach the retail store so they don’t take as long to ripen after consumers buy them. Kevin Moffitt, president of the Pear Bureau Northwest, predicts that someday up to 80 percent of the winter pears will be conditioned, but says momentum has been slowing down. In 2001, the Pear Bureau launched an aggressive program to promote conditioning and hired a ripening consultant, Dennis Kihlstadius, to train shippers, wholesalers, and retailers how to ripen pears. Retailers report sales increases of 25 to […]