Visual quality and waste of fresh vegetables and herbs in a typical retail market in Brazil

ABSTRACT Because of high perishability, leafy vegetables and fresh herbs are transported to the market soon after harvest. It is very likely that most of the damage due to inadequate handling at the farm and during transport will result in food discard only later in the retail market or in the household. Inadequate handling and marketing strategies in the store are expected to further contribute to waste. The study was designed to address the following questions: 1) what is the visual quality of leafy vegetables and fresh herbs received in the retail market; 2) what is the volume of discard of this produce in the retail market 3) what are the main causes of discard and 4) how these variables are influenced by the vegetable species, the suppliers and the stores evaluated. The study was conducted in 4 stores of a regional supermarket chain in Federal District, Brazil, for a period of 6 months. We evaluated: 1) number of produce items received and discarded; 2) visual quality of produce at reception and 3) cause of discard. The operations in each store were described based on observations and discussion with the store staff. When considering the sum of all produce, the discard (expressed as units per day and corrected for quantity purchased) was influenced by all the factors studied, namely store, supplier and day of the week. Delivery of produce with any signs of wilting and yellowing was negligible but produce with bruised and old leaves which should have been trimmed in the farm were frequent. Visual quality was important to determine shelf life and preference by the consumer but how important it was depended on other factors such as the vegetable or herb considered and the workflow in the store. The discard varied from 8.7% to 97.0% of the number of units purchased. Smaller waste volume was observed for spring onion, parsley, coriander, collard, leek and green leaf lettuce. Waste volume equal to or above 50% was observed for baby romaine lettuce, broad-leaved endive, wild chicory, mustard greens, sage and thyme. The vegetables and fresh herbs discard in the Brazilian retail market is in great measure the result of technological constraints together with bad management practices in the store. The implications of this situation for the definitions of food waste and food loss are discussed.摘要 由于叶菜类与新鲜香草类蔬菜的易腐性极高，收获后需尽快运往市场。农场及运输环节中处理不当所造成的损伤，往往会延迟至零售环节或家庭消费阶段才引发食品废弃；而门店内不当的处理方式与营销策略，还会进一步加剧食品浪费问题。 本研究旨在解答以下四项核心问题：1）抵达零售市场的叶菜类与新鲜香草类蔬菜的视觉品质现状如何？2）此类农产品在零售市场的废弃总量为多少？3）导致农产品废弃的主要诱因是什么？4）蔬菜品类、供应商及受访门店这三类因素，会对上述变量产生何种影响？ 本研究于巴西联邦特区的一家区域连锁超市的4家门店开展，研究周期为6个月。本次评估涵盖三部分内容：1）接收与废弃的农产品单品数量；2）农产品到货时的视觉品质；3）农产品废弃的具体原因。研究人员通过现场观察与门店员工访谈，梳理并记录了各门店的运营流程。 综合所有农产品的统计数据来看，经采购量校正后的日均废弃单位数，会受到本次研究考察的所有因素的影响，即门店、供应商以及星期几。带有萎蔫、发黄迹象的供货批次占比极低，但存在瘀伤、本应在农场完成修剪的老叶的产品却较为常见。 视觉品质对农产品的货架期及消费者购买偏好具有显著影响，但其重要程度会因所考察的蔬菜/香草品类以及门店的作业流程而异。 本次研究中，农产品的废弃率范围为采购单位数的8.7%至97.0%。青葱、欧芹、芫荽、羽衣甘蓝、韭葱及绿叶生菜的废弃量相对较低；而婴儿罗马生菜、宽叶菊苣、野生菊苣、芥菜、鼠尾草及百里香的废弃率达到或超过50%。 巴西零售市场中的叶菜类与新鲜香草类蔬菜废弃现象，在很大程度上源于技术限制与门店的不良管理实践。本文还就该现状对食品浪费与食品损失定义的启示展开了讨论。