How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?

This analysis uses ACNielsen Homescan data on 1999 household food purchases from all types of retail outlets to estimate an annual retail price per pound and per serving for 69 forms of fruits and 85 forms of vegetables. Among the forms we priced, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Supermarket Loss Estimates for Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, Poultry, and Seafood and Their Use in the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data

A certain amount of food in supermarkets is deemed unusable (“food loss”) because of moisture loss, spoilage, and other causes. This study analyzed updated food loss estimates for fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and seafood obtained through a competitive grant with the Perishables Group, Inc. This independent consulting firm compared supplier shipment data with point-of-sale data from six large national and regional supermarket retailers to identify loss in 2005 and 2006. The new estimates, when incorporated into the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data, had little impact on aggregate per capita food loss estimates in 2006 because the new estimates were, on average, close to the previous loss assumptions. The new estimates increased annual per capita estimates of fresh fruit available at the retail level by 0.7 pounds (0.6 percent), 4.2 pounds (2.7 percent) for fresh vegetables, and 4.8 pounds (2.7 percent) for fresh meat, poultry, and seafood. The commodity-specific food loss estimates are more accurate than in previous years.Conversion factor, food loss, fruit, meat, poultry, seafood, supermarket, vegetables, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics,

Food Waste Causes in Fruit and Vegetables Supply Chains

Fruit and vegetables are a core component of healthy diets, but horticultural production and distribution activities suffer from a high incidence of surplus food and food waste. The intrinsic perishability of products as well recurring pests, diseases and contamination events are since long recognized to be primary reasons for fruit and vegetables wastage, but a more thorough knowledge of causes, including external events and internal strategies and practices, is necessary to design and implement waste reduction strategies. However, literature on waste causes in fruit and vegetables supply chains is rather fragmented. Most existing studies focus on single products, single deterioration mechanisms or single reuse or recycling choices, and hardly ever investigate more than one stage of the fruit and vegetables supply chain. The main objective of the paper is to offer an instrument for identifying in a comprehensive way the possible origin points and root issues behind food waste generation in the stages of fruit and vegetables supply chains. The research is conducted through the application of two methods. A first phase consists in a deep literature review, whose results are summarized in the so-called Causes Framework. This qualitative instrument shows the possible sources of fruit and vegetables surplus and waste, highlighting for each supply chain stage the high-priority causes and for each cause the fundamental root issue. The second research phase is a case study that shows how the Framework can be applied to pinpoint the most significant causes for specific supply chains. The unit of analysis is the supply chain of an Italian PGI pear. Primary information is gathered from 6 enterprises through 7 semi-structured interviews. The most critical causes of surplus and waste generation in the focal supply chain are found as the intersection between interview answers and Framework predictions. The paper integrates sparse pieces of knowledge on the processes of food waste generation in fruit and vegetables supply chains, and offers an instrument that may support private and public decision-makers in the reduction of horticultural waste

How Much Do Fruits and Vegetables Cost?

Federal dietary guidance advises Americans to consume more vegetables and fruits because most Americans do not consume the recommended quantities or variety. Food prices, along with taste, convenience, income, and awareness of the link between diet and health, shape food choices. We used 2008 Nielsen Homescan data to estimate the average price at retail stores of a pound and an edible cup equivalent (or, for juices, a pint and an edible cup equivalent) of 153 commonly consumed fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. We found that average prices ranged from less than 20 cents per edible cup equivalent to more than $2 per edible cup equivalent. We also found that, in 2008, an adult on a 2,000- calorie diet could satisfy recommendations for vegetable and fruit consumption in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (amounts and variety) at an average price of$2 to $2.50 per day, or approximately 50 cents per edible cup equivalent.food prices, food budgeting, fruit and vegetable consumption, 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Effect of electron beam irradiation on quality and shelf-life of Tommy Atkins mango (Mangifera indica l.) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbsum l.)

The main goal of this research was to determine the feasibility of using electron beam irradiation as an alternative disinfestation technology while preserving the overall quality of mangoes, and to verify its suitability for the preservation shelf life of blueberries. Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the fruits were evaluated. Mangoes were irradiated at 1.0, 1.5 and 3.1 kGy using a 10MeV (10 kW) linear accelerator (LINAC) with double beam fixture. Samples were stored at 12úC and 62.7% RH for 21 days. Blueberries packed in plastic clamshell containers were irradiated at 1.1, 1.6 and 3.2 kGy doses using the same linear accelerator with a single beam. The shelf life of the berries stored at 5úC and 70.4% RH was evaluated for 14 days. The firmness of mangoes irradiated at 1.5 and 3.1 kGy significantly (p > 0.05) decreased during storage. There was a reduction of total sugars (8.1% and 14.1%) in samples irradiated at 1.0 kGy and 1.5 kGy, respectively. All irradiated mangoes had significantly lower (50- 70 %) ascorbic acid content throughout storage. The phenolic compounds increased in samples irradiated at 1.5 kGy (27.4%) and 3.1 kGy) (18.3%). Sensory evaluation of the fruits irradiated with 3.1 kGy showed significantly less acceptability for overall quality, color, texture and aroma. Irradiation of blueberries at 1.1 kGy had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on the fruits' physicochemical characteristics with the exception of ascorbic acid which decreased by 17% after 14 days. A significant decrease in texture (firmness) of irradiated berries was observed during storage time. Total sugars decreased in all irradiated fruits while total phenolics and tannins increased (10 -20%). Sensory attributes of samples irradiated with 1.1 kGy and 1.6 kGy were found acceptable by the panelists. The high dose-treated fruits were considered unacceptable. The results from this research suggest that a 1.5 kGy is the best treatment to maintain the quality attributes of mangoes and increase the shelf life by three days. The electron beam irradiation of packed blueberries at doses of 1.1 and 1.6 kGy ensures and enhances the quality and the shelf life of blueberries up to 14 days

Blockchain Technology Meets Traceability in Fruit Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Review

Fruits are easily damaged, therefore, a tracing system is needed to ensure the commodity is well received by consumers.  This study is a systematic review aims to  identify areas where the fruits traceability provides the most value for supply chain management and  to develop elements of a future research agenda for the fruits traceability in supply chain management.  PRISMA or Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses is used to help the systematic literature review.  The result showed thad there are several values ​​in applying traceability to the fruit supply chain, such as traceability guarantees the quality of fruit in the supply chain, traceability protects from fraud.  Traceability will help increase consumer confidence in food safety, particularly on fruit.  Blockchain technology  is a promosing technology for a   traceability system in industry and can be used successfully, by modifying the supply chain system and meeting the limitations first

Risk Management Practices for Specialty Crop Producers in Florida

Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Snapshot and trends in the production and overseas trade of fruits from Western Australia

Western Australia produced 129 046 tonnes of fruit in 2015–16, worth $477 million. This was a 62$193m in 2015–16 and now accounts for just over 40% of WA’s total fruit production value. Increased production, WA consumption and demand from the eastern states have led to a 780% increase in the value of avocado sales from WA between 2011–12 and 2015–16. Apples are the biggest crop by quantity and the third biggest by value. Across all fruit sectors there has been a rising trend in export values, which increased 115% between 2007 and 2017 in real terms (after accounting for inflation). Strong sales of strawberries have been a major contributing factor. WA exported $38m worth of fruits in 2017. Of this total, strawberries accounted for 67$25 million and 3509 tonnes in sales. Strawberries command the state’s biggest fruit export market share and global sales are increasing. But, despite the rising trend in exports, the real export price of strawberries fell in 2016 and 2017https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1244/thumbnail.jp

Half-integral Erd\H{o}s-P\'osa property of directed odd cycles

We prove that there exists a function $f:\mathbb{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ such that every digraph $G$ contains either $k$ directed odd cycles where every vertex of $G$ is contained in at most two of them, or a vertex set $X$ of size at most $f(k)$ hitting all directed odd cycles. This extends the half-integral Erd\H{o}s-P\'osa property of undirected odd cycles, proved by Reed [Mangoes and blueberries. Combinatorica 1999], to digraphs.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Recent advances in the application of pulsed light processing for improving food safety and increasing shelf life

peer-reviewedBackground New technologies of non-thermal disinfection such as pulsed light (PL) have emerged lately as an alternative to traditional (thermal and chemical) disinfection and preservation methods. PL can be used to decontaminate a great variety of foods as well as to decontaminate contact surfaces, thus improving safety in foods and extending their shelf life. Moreover, this technology can prevent or reduce some of the detrimental effects of traditional methods on nutrients and bioactive compounds of food products. Scope and approach The combination of PL with other techniques such as ultraviolet light (UV), thermosonication (TS), pulsed electric fields (PEF), manothermosonication (MTS), etc., can improve the effectiveness of the decontamination process. Therefore, in this review, some of the most relevant studies evaluating the potential application of PL treatments to decontaminate food samples, and its impact of nutritional and physicochemical quality parameters will be discussed. Key findings and conclusions PL treatments are suitable for microbial decontamination in transparent drinks and for surface contaminated foods without complex microstructures. They also can be used for meat, fish and their by-products However, it is still necessary to evaluate the appropriate treatment conditions (number of light flashed, voltage, distance between sample and flash light, spectral range of light flashes and contamination) for each food and microorganism separately to improve the effectiveness and minimize the appearance of negative attributes reducing the quality of product as, in some cases, PL can have a negative effect on the photosensitive compounds and sensory characteristics of food products