The consumer protection issues on safety and quality across

the fresh produce supply chain

Dr. G.V.R.K Acharyulu

Mr. Sudhakar Madhavedi

Abstract:

In India the consumer focus is low in entire fresh produce supply chain. The consumers pay
higher price for safe qualitative produce. Since farmers are not organized; their knowledge of
Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) is almost non-existing. Fresh produce safety and quality
deteriorated by use of unprocessed manure, misuse of pesticides, and contamination during
shipment and cause illness to the customer. There are many limitations to offer qualitative
produce to customers, like non-availability of quality seeds, lack of soil testing facility,
inefficiency in pest management, lack of information on quality standards, huge post-harvest
losses, insufficient cold storage, inadequate space in market and safe fresh transportation
facilities.

In today’s globalization era, the major challenges before the fresh produce industry are rapid
progress in production technology, changing consumer preferences, entry of multi-national
companies and finally, the survival of interest of illiterate farmer who is unaware of consumer
safety and quality standards. There is no coordinated effort made to bring uniform food safety
and quality regulations by the different ministries of government of India. This paper
addresses the consumer problems and suggests precautionary measures to enhance the safety
and quality across the fresh produce supply chain.

Key Words: Supply Chain, Consumer awareness, Safety, Quality, fresh Produce

1.0 Introduction:
Although vegetables are good examples of minimally processed foods there is a high risk of
contamination, therefore good hygienic measures have to be taken during the production from
farm to table. The world has seen significant changes in eating habits and consumption of
fresh produce is increasingly becoming important in the diet of many people, especially
reflected in the increased demand for organically produced foods. In the production and
processing of fresh produce quality and hygiene are the most important criteria for the
consumers. Such food products are often eaten raw or with minimal processing and, if
contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, may represent a health hazard to consumers.

India is the world’s second largest producer of foods. It produces 43 million tonnes of fruits
and 88 million tonnes of vegetables. The National Horticulture Mission forecasts annual
production growth at 8.8 percent for fruits and 10.9 percent for vegetables. But the concept
that food quality and safety begins at the farm through good agricultural practices (GAP) and
workers’ hygiene has yet to take root. The domestic market services more than 90 million
tonnes of fresh produce through 7 300 wholesale assembly markets and 27294 rural weekly
markets.

Current estimates indicate that fresh food production will double in the next ten years. It is
widely felt that there is enormous potential for the growth of the food industry in India. In
addition, as liberalization of the economy progresses, there is the added incentive of
potentially huge export markets for the Indian food industry. There are many areas where
significant improvements and changes will have to be made in order for the industry to realize
its full potential. The main area is modernization of the agri food chain. Given the antiquated
and inefficient farming and agricultural practices, there are the twin problems of low
agricultural yields and tremendous wastage of food throughout the food chain. For example
about 40% of the total fruit and vegetable production in the country is lost to wastage (CII-
McKinsey, 1997). The key issue of fresh produce industry is food safety. Food safety enjoys a
very low priority at all levels, and there is limited awareness of the importance of hygiene and
the seriousness of food borne illnesses. In order for India to achieve global standards in foods,
this is an area that will demand the maximum attention.

1.1 Fresh Produce Supply Chain

Supply chains may include growers, pickers, packers, processors, storage and transport
facilitators, marketers, exporters, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.

The farmers grow fresh produce to the best of their abilities under given production
circumstances to obtain prices as high as they can. Specific demand for quality and safe
produce is uncommon. Prices are more linked to supply and demand than quality and safety
of produce. Farm-level sorting or grading based on standards is generally not practiced.
Gunny cloth commonly used in packaging and transportation are recycled. Damage caused to
fresh produce by bruises or iron hooks during loading-unloading and subsequent spoilage on
account of microbial activities is accepted as routine.
1.2 Government Rules and Regulations on Food Standards:
Quality and safety issues are traditionally dealt with separately by the Ministries of
Agriculture and Health. While quality standards were prescribed and promoted by the
Ministry of Agriculture, State Governments also have their own systems of adoption of
standards, notably in the area of weights and measures. A notable point in the product
standardization in India is that while the enforcement agencies have establishments to enforce
these rules in domestic units, effective to ensuring safety and health in the domestic market.

Produce markets were advised to grade fresh produce, such as citrus fruits, onions, potatoes
and other fruits, before sale, as per these standards. The standards were voluntary and traders
did not accept them on the grounds that good and homogeneous quality fresh produce was not
available. The industry transacted on the basis of mutually-accepted standards. Neither
government nor traders educated growers about prevailing standards and their importance in
marketing. An increasing number of food consignments being rejected on the world market
have brought the standards available in India into focus. But, these were found unacceptable
in today’s market because:

1. Most of these standards were framed during the time when the country’s focus was on
control, not on value addition.
2. Traders, producers, industry, and consumers were unaware of the local standards both
on national and international markets.
3. Quality fresh produce suitable for processing was not available due to policy on land
holding.
4. Scientific harvesting and post-harvest handling of fresh produce from growers to
consumers were at low levels of mechanization and technological innovation.
5. Infrastructure support was lacking; inadequacies of rural roads and rail network,
research and development laboratories, quality and safety norms with a mechanism for
certification, cold storage and cold chain.

2.0 Farmers’ insight into Quality and safety produce:

Marketing extension, with regard to buyers’ needs, is not available in a user-friendly manner.
Long marketing channels prohibit contact between the producers and buyers. Farmers who are
aware about quality and safety aspects, especially about pesticide hazards, have become
satisfied about the situation because:

− Safe produce has no different marketing channel to assure higher prices,

− The agency to propagate and ensure safety of produce is absent.
− Mechanisms to produce and certify quality and safe produce are not in place,
− No difficulty in selling unsafe produce,
− No deterring punishment witnessed to any producer, commission agent or trader for
handling unsafe fruit and vegetables in the market.
2.1 Lack of knowledge or information on food safety:
Most farmers are not aware of food safety requirements. However, some farmers say leafy
vegetables, especially those eaten raw like lettuce, should not be completely free from pests as
an assurance of safety. While at least some farmers are already aware of the increasing
concern about pesticide residues, microbial hazards associated with the production of fruits
and vegetables are seldom heard of. This may be due to the lack of reported cases of food
poisoning associated with the consumption of fresh produce.

2.2 Lack of incentives/motivation

The integrated pest management (IPM) approach learned through training sponsored by
government agencies and international organizations such as FAO. Farmers also do their own
experiments to save on pesticide use. Some are also aware and concerned about the health
hazards associated with an excessive use of pesticides on consumers. There are still growers
who find it difficult to accept that food safety practices are necessary. Farmers cannot see the
need to use practices such as GAP, citing that they have never had problems in the past.

The absence of a marketing linkage and the fact that only a small portion of their produce will
fall into a higher grade both lead to the prevailing practice of selling produce in bulk at the
farm level. The traders will then implement the value-adding activities such as grading and
packaging before selling to the consumers. Growers also complain about having to implement
food safety practices when they see little evidence of safety measures by other businesses
downstream in the marketing chain. Food quality and safety have to be appreciated by
consumers so that they will be willing to pay for good quality and safer products. Price often
predominates in the decision to buy.

2.3 Scale of production:

The majority of fruits and vegetables are grown in small farms and traded in limited volumes.
Farmers still rely on traditional farming systems, partly due to a lack of inputs. Most farmers
rely on intermediaries for knowledge about the market. They rarely look beyond the
marketing chain. They seldom get feedback on the quality of their produce that reaches the
consumer. Because of the predominantly small scale of production, farmers and handlers
cannot afford to implement the prerequisite programmes that will ensure safe fruits and
vegetables, such as GAP, sanitation and standard operating procedures (SSOP), good
manufacturing practices (GMP) and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP).

3.0 Quality and safety issues in fresh produce supply chain in India:

In recent years several surveys of food-borne pathogens and indicator bacteria have been carried
out which have shown that pathogens can be found, often in small amounts, in these products.
Some work has also been carried out on survival and transfer of most emerging pathogens.
Contamination of vegetables may take place at all stages during production and processing with
possible sources being soil, faeces, water and ice, animals, handling of the products, harvesting
and processing equipment, and transport. Soil fertilized with farm manure or sewage waste may
represent a risk of spreading of different pathogens e.g., E.coli O157, Salmonella, Listeria
monocytogenes. Focally contaminated water that is used for irrigation and washing of products
prior to processing may also be a source of these food-borne pathogens.
3.1 Pests, Diseases and Spoilage: Contamination in fresh produce supply chain:
Pests - notably insect pests are a serious problem during production of fresh produce
which in the tropics must be controlled by the use of careful cultural practices and
controlled application of insecticides provided that no harmful residues remain on the crop
at harvest.

Infested produce at harvest is relatively easy to spot and separate from clean produce. The
rapid marketing of most fresh produce also means that there is little opportunity for insect
pest infestation provided that reasonable precautions are taken and that produce infested
prior to harvest is rejected and not mixed with clean produce.

1. Diseases - Post-harvest infection of fresh produce by fungi and bacteria may cause
physical injury, increased water loss and increased respiration leading to rapid
deterioration and spoilage of the produce. Bacteria multiply by rapid cell division
and enter produce mainly through cut surface. or natural abscission points.
Bacterial contamination of produce is most commonly by contact with infected
water or by contact with soil harboring the bacteria.
2. Good phytosanitary practices will help prevent most postharvest infections. Use
clean and sharp knives and clippers at harvest and only use clean water for
washing, and do not put cut surfaces, of cabbage for example, onto the ground.
Fungi multiply by cell extension and division and by forming spores for dispersal
in air or water, or even by various animal and insect vectors.
3. During storage, marketing and distribution, all produce will age and become
weaker with a gradual breakdown of cell structure and integrity. The produce is
thus stressed and less able to withstand invasion and infection by disease
organisms. Alternatively, the produce being a fruit, ripening produces a sweet and
readily utilizable food source for fungal growth.

3.2 The ill effects of excess use of pesticides on consumer:

Most fresh fruits and vegetables are grown outdoors in non-sterile environments; it is possible
that they may pathogens (disease-causing micro organisms) present in soil, air and water.
Crops may have been sprayed with agricultural compounds to ward off attack from insects or
disease and can also be affected by natural toxins produced by the plant itself to the same end.
Low-level microbial or residual contamination of fresh produce can occur during any
production stage from growing in the field to dinner plate. The surfaces of fresh produce may
have a covering of pathogens at harvest, and there may also remain some agricultural
compound residue on the surface of fresh produce.
The health burden placed on consumers from the use of pesticides is huge, ranging from
cancer-related illness, to acute poisonings, to chronic degenerative diseases, including nerve
disorders. It is important that children not be viewed as small adults. Their biological systems,
such as liver detoxification mechanisms and blood-brain protective barrier, are uniquely
underdeveloped. The financial cost to taxpayers from pesticide-related illness is formidable,
while the pesticide manufacturers, operating without legislation calling for reverse onus,
profit enormously from their products.
4.0 Factors affecting food quality and safety in fresh produce supply chain
While some farmer-suppliers may be aware of the trends in domestic and international trade
regarding food safety, guidelines for on-farm safety are absent or lacking. There may be
several guidelines or codes of practice that are in place but these may not be applicable to the
existing farming systems in many parts of the country. A standard guideline that is easily
understood, written in the vernacular, and can be readily applied should be developed.

4.1 Lack of collection centres or packinghouses

Many production sites in India still lack collection centres or packinghouses where
preparatory activities such as sorting, trimming, treatment for disease control, cooling, air
drying, sizing and grading are usually undertaken. In some areas, packinghouses are located
far from production areas. Delays in the application of treatments to control microbial growth
especially under the prevailing high temperature and high relative humidity, can lead to
proliferation of spoilage and food pathogens.

1.
4.2 Inadequate cold chain facilities
Decline in quality and growth of spoilage and food pathogens can be adequately controlled
with the adoption of a cold chain system. Many growers and traders think that transporting the
produce in refrigerated vans is a cost. In most circumstances sea transportation is by reefer
vessel and is largely used for export of fresh produce. Sea transportation, because of the
journey times, is effectively a form of refrigerated storage and all the precautions necessary
for storage are relevant here also.

4.3 Poor containers and transport facilities

For inland transport, most fruits, such as bananas, are loaded in bulk in dry vans with poor
ventilation. Vans are usually not cleaned prior to loading so that rotting fruits are commonly
found prior to loading bananas. In some instances, animal waste is present in empty vans that
are waiting to be loaded with fruits. Containers used are usually recycled cartons and bamboo
or rattan baskets that do not provide adequate protection to the content. More often, to save on
transport cost, containers are over packed, resulting in mechanical damage. There are also
occasions when containers are used several times without cleaning. Although liners such as
newspapers are used, the possibility of contamination is high especially if the container is
used for other commodities.

4.4 Sanitary conditions in collection centers, trading posts and wholesale markets:
Conditions in most trading posts and wholesale markets are unsanitary. Fruits and vegetables
are usually piled on dirty floors and sometimes handlers sit on the pile of vegetables. Garbage
heaps, which consist of decomposed, produce, trimmings and even used containers and liners
are near fresh fruits and vegetables. The likelihood of contamination with pathogens, protozoa
and helminthes is high. Where preparatory activities prior to marketing are done in wholesale
markets, microbial and chemical contamination is likely to occur. The water used in washing
produce such as root crops may be contaminated, recycled or not changed frequently.
Mangoes and bananas are generally ripened with calcium carbide, which contains some
impurities and should thus be applied with care. Farmers, sorters, packers and handlers are
also sources of microbial contamination.

5.0 Over coming from problems:

Laboratory facilities that will offer affordable fees for chemical, microbial and physical
analyses of hazards in fresh fruits and vegetables must be in place in strategically located
areas for the benefit of fruit and vegetable growers and industry associations. There is a need
to upgrade facilities and personnel of analytical laboratories. The government should also
increase research and development support in the following areas of concern:

1. Development and implementation of a quality assurance programme; conduct of

studies on modes of contamination of fresh produce during production and post-
harvest handling;
2. Development of effective methods of reducing or eliminating hazards;
3. Improvement of analytical techniques and development of simple, rapid, objective and
economically feasible methods of hazard detection that can be applied at various
points in the supply chain.
5.1 Manpower capacity building:
Fresh fruit and vegetable producers and other players in the handling and distribution chain
need training on GAP. A training module on GAP should include the following topics:

1. Creating awareness of hazards associated with the production and post-harvest

handling of vegetables by focusing on the identification of hazards; consequences, and
identification of sources of contamination of these food safety hazards;
2. Production and post-harvest handling process flow and inputs;
3. Enhancing the decision-making process of growers and handlers in assessing the risks
of an identified hazard;
4. Implementing a system of record keeping, documentation and labeling to trace the
origin.

5.2 Consumer education on food safety:

Consumer education on food safety should involve the development of highly focused
strategies and messages targeting the general public. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
should inform consumers about the results of its pesticide residue analyses so that consumers
become aware of the quality and safety of fruits and vegetables they are consuming.
Consumers should also be informed on the method that could be employed in order to reduce
pesticide residues in fresh produce.

5.3 Shift from the concept of “producer-push” to “consumer-pull”

The fresh fruit and vegetable industry is a dynamic one. There is a shift in focus from the
producer to the consumer. Competition is now shifting towards shorter supply chains with
increasing consumer power, particularly when it comes to assurance of quality and safety. The
fresh produce industry has not fully appreciated this shift in the supply chain and has yet to
value the importance of product standards.

5.4 Strengthen fresh produce associations or clusters

Since small growers have little or no control over what happens to the produce as it goes
through the distribution chain, an integrated approach whereby growers, handlers and shippers
work in partnership with distributors will allow grower/packinghouse facility identification
(traceability).

6.0 Conclusions

The choice of variety can affect the attractiveness of a product to consumers and can also
have an impact on the shelf life of the product. Use of untreated manure can spread
pathogens. Harvesting practices can have a major impact on both quality and safety, with
fruits and vegetables often being harvested immature, too soon after pesticide application, or
at the wrong time of the day. Diseases and pests are widespread and can have a major impact
on quality. However, countering such problems by using pesticides has major implications for
food safety. A call to action is required to deal with the health burden imposed by pesticide
use. Individual, family, community, national and global attention needs to and can be brought
to the issue, and reduction of exposure be considered a health priority.
Farmers rarely undertake actions to improve quality or safety. Factors explaining this are
market-related, socio-economic, and awareness-related. For many consumers in Asia price is
seen as the most important factor influencing a purchasing decision, followed by the location
of the retailer. There is a reluctance to pay more for quality and a general lack of awareness of
safety issues. Where there is a perception of quality it is largely related to the physical
appearance of the produce, with the result that traders put pressure on farmers to produce
blemish-free fruits and vegetables, which may involve using large amounts of pesticide.
Increased demand for fruits and vegetables, together with land and labour shortages, has led
to intensification, involving higher levels of pesticide use, as has the growing demand for out-
of-season production.

Although traders do reject produce as unacceptable, fruits and vegetables meeting minimum
standards are generally purchased at the same price regardless of quality or safety
characteristics. Farmers thus have no incentive to improve quality beyond the minimum
necessary to make a sale. There may be a disincentive to reduce pesticide usage if, as a
consequence, fruits and vegetables become blemished and fail to meet minimum standards.
Unreliable marketing channels and uncertainty about the price similarly discourage
investment. Marketing channel practices, such as buying the field or orchard or providing
finance to farmers in advance of the harvest, may also have implications for produce quality.
Seeking to maximize their income, farmers often sell unripe produce in order to take
advantage of higher prices. Where marketing channels are unreliable farmers may sell
immature produce because they cannot be sure that a trader will be buying when the produce
is ready.

7.0 References:

1. Elda B. Esguerra, Jean-Joseph Cadilhon and Andrew W. Shepherd, “Proceedings of the

FAO/AFMA workshop on quality and safety in the traditional horticultural marketing
chains of Asia”, 7-10 November, Bangkok, 2006
2. S.S. Singh and Sapna Chadah ‘Consumer Protection in India Some Reflections’ The
Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution, Government of India.
3. P.J.P. Zuurbier, 1999. “Supply Chain management in Fresh Produce Industry: A mile to
go?” Journal of Food Distribution, March; p: 20-30
4. Martin Christopher, 1998. Logistic and Supply chain Management, Second edition.
Pitman Publishing,; p: 4-13
5. Eds. A.M. Wadhwani and I.J. Lall. (1972) Harmful Effects of Pesticides. Report of the
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6. J.L.Gattorna and D.W.Watters, 1996. Managing Supply Chain: A Strategic approach.
Palgrave publisher; 6-17
7. S.S. Acharya, Agriculture marketing and rural credit: Status, Issues and reform agenda,
2005
8. Surabhi Mittal, 2007. Strengthening Indian Agriculture-Need for Reforms, Draft paper,
U.S. India Agriculture Initiatives. Organized by ICRIER, Ministry of External Affairs,
GoI
9. Gokul Patnaik, Marketing, Storage and Extension services: State of Agriculture in India
10. Pingali Venugopal, 2004. State of Indian Farmers: A Millennium Study-Input
Management, Academic Foundation; P: 59-245
11. V.R.Gaikwad, Shreekanth.S, V.Prakash, 2004. State of Indian Farmers: A Millennium
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12. Richard Robbins, “Global Problem and the Culture of Capitalism”, (Allyn and Bacon,
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