Towards a new definition of quality for fresh fruits and vegetables

The quality of fruits and vegetables constitutes a dynamic composite of their physicochemical properties and consumer perception. Attempts at defining quality often discriminate between intrinsic characteristics inherent to the nature of the products, dictated by genotypic, agroenvironmental and postharvest factors, and extrinsic characteristics influenced by socioeconomic and marketing factors which condition consumer perception of the products and formulate quality standards. The current regulatory context for fruit and vegetable quality comprises crop-specific class standards based on key visual and limited compositional criteria and lays primary emphasis on visual attributes at the expense of flavour, nutritional and functional attributes related to phytonutrient content. The potential quality of fresh fruits and vegetables in the horticultural supply chain is defined in the period preceding harvest, however the full development of quality characteristics can be optimized through the use of appropriate postharvest technology. The current review provides a discourse on the relative significance of the various factors configuring quality in fruits and vegetables, with emphasis on intrinsic factors pertaining to the preharvest period, and also on extrinsic factors shaping quality for supply chain stakeholders and consumers. Preharvest factors discussed include: 1) optimization of stage-specific production inputs, 2) biofortification through targeted plant nutrition, 3) application of accurate crop- and cultivar-specific harvest maturity indices, 4) optimized application of controlled stress conditions that increase primary and secondary metabolites and improve organoleptic and functional aspects of quality, and 5) redirection of horticultural breeding towards improving flavour in horticultural products.