Quality Factors and Their Evaluation

The word quality is used in various ways in reference to fresh fruit and vegetables. The quality of fresh horticultural commodities is a combination of characteristics, attributes, and properties, known as features, that give the commodity value for food (fruit and vegetables) and enjoyment (ornamentals).

Producers are concerned that their commodities have good appearance and few visual defects. A useful cultivar must also score high on yield, disease resistance, ease of harvest, and shipping quality.

To receivers and market distributors, appearance quality is most important; they are also keenly interested in firmness and long storage life.

Consumers consider good-quality fruit and vegetables to be those that look good, are firm, and offer good flavor and nutritive value and their satisfaction and repeat purchases are dependent upon good eating quality and good life in the refrigerator or vase.

Assurance of food safety is extremely important to consumers. If the product is not safe it does not matter what its quality; it must be eliminated from the produce distribution system.

The goal of the technical editors and the authors of this Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops series is to describe the current scientific understanding of quantitative and qualitative losses in fresh-market vegetables, fruit, tree nuts, and flowers. The emphasis is on commercially available technologies that have been placed into practice to minimize losses and maintain food safety.

This is Volume 4 in Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, 4th Edition