Pitting is the mechanical removal of stones from cherries, sour cherries, plums and apricots, and it defines a key commercial product form for frozen stone fruit traded between Ukraine and the EU.
In trade practice
Pitting machines use punches or jets to push the stone through the fruit; the correct punch size must be matched to fruit calibre to avoid tearing the flesh or leaving stone fragments. After pitting, product passes through stone-detection equipment, typically X-ray or laser systems, and a manual inspection stage. Buyers routinely specify a maximum number of stones or stone fragments permitted per unit weight, and non-conformance is one of the most common causes of rejection or price deduction for frozen sour cherry. Pitting yield, expressed as the ratio of pitted fruit to whole raw material, is tracked as a production efficiency and quality indicator.
In a specification
A specification for pitted frozen fruit states the maximum allowable stone and stone-fragment count per kilogram and requires that stone-detection records are retained for each production lot.