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Issues: Growing and Production

PMA Overview: Fresh-cut Produce

Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are rapidly growing segments of the produce industry. Fresh-cut is another way the industry provides consumers with taste, nutrition, and convenience in healthful meal options. According to the PMA Information Resource Center's Fresh-cut Produce Industry Fact Sheet, retail sales captured 43% of fresh-cut sales in 2005. In 2006, the fresh-cut category was forecast to earn $13.4 billion in sales.

On February 1-2, 2006, PMA commissioned a survey among 1,000 primary food shoppers nationwide to assess consumer perception of the safety of consuming fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. The survey was repeated on May 3-4, 2006, several days after Dateline, a nationwide television program aired on NBC, focused on the presence of E. coli in bagged salads. PMA’s initial survey was conducted to create a baseline of consumer perception prior to the airing of the program while the second survey was conducted to determine if perceptions had changed.

In February the primary shoppers who were interviewed said they like having access to fresh, pre-cut produce, that they buy a lot of it, and have very little concern over its safety. Most consumers (71% in May; 74% in February) say they rely on their own personal experience when making decisions about food safety. Those who rely on comments from family and friends constituted 33% in May and 35% in February. Twenty-two percent in May and twenty-six percent in February said they relied on information from government health experts. The fewest cited media coverage as being the source they most relied upon for this information (16% in May and 17% in February).

Approximately 87% of consumers say they have purchased fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in the past year, which is greater than the 82% consumers reported in February. Four in ten say they have purchased more than they purchased the previous year. One-third project they will increase their purchases next year.

On March 12, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its draft final fresh-cut produce food safety guidance. The guidance is intended for all fresh-cut produce processing firms, both domestic firms and firms importing or offering fresh-cut product for import into the U.S., to enhance the safety of fresh-cut produce by minimizing the microbial food safety hazards common to the processing of most fresh-cut fruits and vegetables sold to consumers and retail establishments in a ready-to-eat form. It complements FDA's Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) requirements for foods by providing specific guidance on the processing of fresh-cut produce.