Fresh-cut produce quality: implications for a systems approach

Fresh-cut fruit and vegetables represent an important food segment of interest to growers, processors, retailers and consumers. Fresh-cut products are more perishable than whole produce because they are physically altered from their original state during processing operations. Although they remain in a fresh state, fresh-cut products are living tissues characterized by an accelerated metabolism. Quality in fresh-cut product preparation and distribution is crucial in terms of food safety, quality and environmental impact. Cultivation is still a fundamental part of the supply chain, but the complex market dynamics require detailed knowledge of all stages in the supply chain. In the last 20 years, the fruit and vegetable market has developed a rich array of new products. At the same time, consumers have become more concerned about health and a proper diet (see also Chapters 3 and 5 Chapter 3 Chapter 5) and have increased the demand for healthy fruit and vegetables and guaranteed products. Globalization has shown that production systems need a new approach that should focus on safety and quality rather than quantity and has shown that a fully integrated and complex supply chain must be able to fulfill the consumers’ needs. This chapter has considered critical points concerning the safety and quality of produce which should be controlled by growers, who represent the first stage in the fresh-cut supply chain, and the technologies used by processors to maintain quality and guarantee safety. An optimal cultivation management on the farm, an efficient and rapid harvesting, proper postharvest handling and storage are key factors that favor the quality of the raw material. Quality raw material enhances processing and final product quality, leading to increased competitiveness in the market for the fresh-cut producer. This, in turn, leads to increased bargaining power of, in particular, processors and retailers.