A project AHR conducted for the chestnut industry in 2013 identified some inefficiencies in the way chestnuts were handled and stored. They found ways that growers could reduce their costs without affecting quality.

Establishing nutrient claim data for babyleaf spinach and rocket will help Australia’s fruit and vegetable industries to make informed and up-to-date decisions relating to nutrition labelling and health claims.

While consumers knew about the monounsaturated fat contained in avocados, they had less knowledge of other nutrients and bioactive compounds. The project aimed to establish a suitable portion size for avocado and conduct dietary modelling.It explored whether consumers wanted additional nutrient and health information from industry.

When the vegetable industry commissioned a series of studies on consumer vegetable choices in 2013, broccoli was a popular purchase—perceived as a healthy, tasty vegetable. However, inconsistency in retail quality and shelf life kept purchases down.This project is investigating the retail quality of broccoli and will propose ways to improve it if particular issues are uncovered.

Postharvest handling—the link between production and consumption —hasn’t received much attention. Yet postharvest strategies can improve quality and shelf life, and reduce costs, giving a better product for consumers and greater profits for growers. Existing recommendations describe what happens under optimum conditions, but what happens when conditions are less than ideal?

This trial is a great example of the importance of antioxidants for plant health. For healthy fruit, severe stress of any sort should be avoided to ensure the antioxidant system is not stretched beyond its limit. If it is, visual damage will occur, resulting in a loss of product quality.

With the market moving to pre-packed lettuces, with its stringent requirements, this guide helps growers and processors around Australia to maximise quality and yield in their operations.