Abstract
The fresh-cut industry supplies the food market with healthy fresh fruit and vegetables and, in that way, may contribute to improve the nutritional status of the general population. On the other hand, over the last few years increasing concerns have been raised regarding the environmental impact of the fresh-cut industry, human health risks from exposure to disinfection by-products found in fresh-cut products and chlorine-based disinfection treatments during produce processing. This review provides a comprehensive view of the main interlinked aspects related to food safety and environmental impact of processing of fresh-cut vegetables. Advantages and downsides of the mainstream disinfection strategy, based on the use of chlorine-related disinfecting agents, along with some alternative treatments close to a wide commercial application, are discussed. Limitation in the application of these strategies to processing of organic fresh-cut produce are also highlighted, examining the specific environmental and food safety problems in the organic sector. Areas where lack of available information hinders at present a clear understanding of priorities of research and action are pointed out. Innovative conceptual tools are proposed to address these multiple and interlinking issues and to overcome limitations of currently available technologies. A comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach is suggested to move toward a more safe and environmentally sustainable production of fresh-cut products.
Highlights
The fresh-cut fruit and vegetables (F&V) market in the high-income economies has been characterized since the eighties by a rapid double-digit growth and it is forecast to develop at an even faster pace in the middle-income economies (Rojas-Graü et al, 2011; Baselice et al, 2017)
An increased consumption of F&V, along with wholegrain cereals, legumes and nuts, would be important to achieve one key objective set up by the European Farm to Fork Strategy, that is reversing by 2030 the rise in obesity rates and overweight, which affects more than half of the European adult population (European Commission, 2020a)
The fresh-cut industry supplies the food market with products that may facilitate the consumption of healthy fresh F&V and, in that way, contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the general population
Summary
The fresh-cut fruit and vegetables (F&V) market in the high-income economies has been characterized since the eighties by a rapid double-digit growth and it is forecast to develop at an even faster pace in the middle-income economies (Rojas-Graü et al, 2011; Baselice et al, 2017) These consistent and continuing market trends have been attributed to the freshness, convenience, and healthy attributes of ready-to-eat F&V. The increased availability of fresh-cut F&V on the market has been favorably evaluated from a nutrition perspective, because it might facilitate an increased consumption of F&V in the general population In this way it may contribute to efforts toward the yet-to-be achieved goal of a daily F&V consumption of 400 g per capita, which is recommended by the WHO as the minimum intake needed for a healthy diet (World Health Organization, 2020). There is a broad consensus that moving to a more plantbased diet, with less red and processed meat, would reduce risks of life threatening diseases, and the environmental impact of the food system (Willett et al, 2019)
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