Mechanical equipment and operations used on apple packing lines often bruise the apples. These bruises are caused by impacts with hard surfaces or other apples. An Instrumented Sphere (IS) was used to evaluate commercial packing lines and identify areas where damaging impacts occur. Damage free apples were also used on some lines to provide a direct indication of damage. A few lines were changed to reduce impacts and damage, then were re-evaluated. Impacts exceeding 20 g* (summation of all peak g) and total bruise damage were directly related, and both were significantly reduced using relatively inexpensive line changes. When installing new lines, traditional use of large elevation changes and hard instead of cushioned surfaces between line components must be avoided. Manufacturers, installers and owners can work together to make low handling damage a reality.