Fruit and Vegetable Quality

of a product can be described in terms of cell wall composition and struc-
ture. Consumers perceive texture during consumption and describe their
experience in terms of crispiness or mealiness and toughness. The total
of quality attributes (intrinsic factors) determines the quality of a given
product. “Extrinsic factors” refer to the production system and include
factors such as the amount of pesticides used during growing, the type
of packaging material used, a specific processing technology or the use

Product Quality 7

FIGURE 1.2The concept of the total of intrinsic and extrinsic factors determining pur-
chase behavior.