What is quality?

What is quality?
According by Shewfelt (1997) “the quality has been defined in many ways and
contexts”, there is Little agreement as to what it is, how it can be measured and
how it relates to consumer acceptability.
What is food quality?
Food quality embracer both sensory attributes that are readily perceived by the
human senses and hidden attributes such as safety and nutrition that require
sophisticated instrumentation to measure.
What is the meaning of product-oriented quality?
Quality is defined as a series of attributes selected on the basis of accuracy and
precision of measurement. The quality changes can be plotted as a function of
time and directly related to physiological changes, and this is usually measured
with analytical instruments and the data can be readily analyzed with results
readily reproduced.
What is the quality paradox?
It has been my observation that within a postharvest handling chain, for a given
fruit or vegetable, the longer the shelf life the poorer the quality of the product as
delivered to the consumer.
What is the meaning of consumer-oriented quality?
A consumer orientation to quality requires an understanding of consumer
behavior and is focused at predicting product performance in the marketplace.
Also the measurement of consumer attitudes can be simplified to determine either
acceptability (superior, acceptable or unacceptable) or willingness to purchase
What are the implications of quality orientation?
Product-oriented quality is well suited to meet the needs of distributors. It provides
the best means of developing and assessing technical advances in postharvest
handling.