The box in the field that the pickers put the lettuce into is the same box delivered to the store 3000 miles away. It may be open a looked at but not handled individually.
To the contrary. It is handled individually. Orders have to be picked in the distribution centers, some in bulk and others by individual unit.
Once again, I was in the business for nearly forty years. I have hands on experience. What can I tell you, except that I know different.
When I ordered supplies for a large restaurant where I use to manage the kitchen, I used to order head lettuce and it came in the boxes that that field hands put it in 3000 miles away. That is what the supplier told me.