At the packing facility, apples are washed, rinsed, sorted and graded. Next, apples are waxed to help keep them moist and firm.

The wax helps maintain the color and freshness of the apples after harvest. Very little edible wax is used on each apple. The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association states that one pound of wax can be used to cover more than 160,000 apples. That means that one apple is covered by less than 0.002 grams of wax.

On the computerized packing line, each apple is either photographed or weighed to determine the size of the fruit.

After apples are sorted according to size, workers hand-pack the fruit into trays. Apples are then inspected and boxed and the boxes are put on pallets for transport to cold storage facilities.

Apples are stored in warehouses. There are two types of warehouses used to store apples. Inside a regular warehouse, apples can be stored for up to five months; they last this long because the warehouse is kept at a cool 30-32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Inside a special "controlled atmosphere" warehouse, apples can be stored for almost 12 months, because the temperature, humidity, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are constantly monitored and controlled to prevent the apples from ripening too quickly.

Most apples are transported in refrigerated trucks to the supermarket. Each truck can carry about 1,000 boxes of apples. Sometimes apples are transported from the west coast to the east coast in refrigerated rail cars. Each rail car can carry about 2,000 boxes of apples.

Apples that are shipped overseas are transported on big ships called "reefer vessels." On the ships, they are kept in refrigerated containers that are cooled to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. From the United States, apples may be shipped to markets around the world. Apples brought to the United States from South American countries like Chile can take about two weeks to get here.