• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1566-1571
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• 2005

Consumer's perception and consumption pattern of fresh-cut agri-food Products were surveyed to Provide basic information for quality enhancement. The results are summarized as follows: The respondents had a preference for a discount store (60.5$\%$) to purchase fruits and vegetables and the frequency of purchase was one time Per week (46.1$\%$). Fruits and vegetables were purchased frequently by full-time housewives compared with workers. The reasons for purchasing fresh-cut agri-food generally resulted from a consideration of the saving in cooking time, the ease of handling and the desire to serve appropriate portions. On the other hand, the reasons for not purchasing fresh-cut agri-food Products were the comparatively high price, a perception of unsanitary handling. Freshness was considered to be the most important factor when purchasing these products. The preferred price for the fresh-cut agri-food products were approximately 110 $\∼$ 140$\%$ of that for the unprocessed products. 87.7$\%$ of respondents answered that they will purchase fresh-cut agri-food products continuously if some problems that they considered, would be improved.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.622-628
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• 2007

Most fresh-cut agri-food products are less stable than unprocessed materials from which they are made. The objective of this study was the development of a quality control system for fresh-cut agri-food products. In this study, vitamin C, minerals, residual heavy metals, and pesticides of various fresh-cut agri-food products were analysed. Sensory evaluation revealed that overall acceptability scores were less than expected in most products since fresh-cut products are likely to cause browning and easily lose their freshness. Therefore, the postharvest technologies that can maintain the quality, freshness and appearance must be supplied. Although vitamin C and minerals are main nutrients that can be supplied from salads, the results showed that vitamin C and mineral contents were very small and extremely small compared with the values from the food composition tables. It is possible that vitamin C and most minerals that are easily destroyed were lost through minimal processes like peeling and cutting. In safety side, the remaining heavy metal contents of fresh-cut agri-food were investigated and the results showed that copper and lead existed in some products because only cadmium in agricultural produce is controlled by the minimum standard of heavy metal contents in Korea. No residual pesticides were detected in all products.