What was it all about?

This benchmarking project, which ran between 2012 and 2016, had a number of key aims, including to:

• Use ongoing retail quality survey results as one of the tools to monitor the quality improvement program being rolled out through other projects
• Monitor fruit quality over time to measure improvements from specific projects aimed at improving quality
• Provide time-series data to illustrate fruit quality by growing season, store type and city
• Report back to members of the supply chain regularly on the level of quality of assessed fruit with an up-to-date analysis of current quality.

The data gathered was used to inform sectors of the supply chain of the main quality defects being observed at retail level, as well as the incidence of immature fruit in the market.

Findings were used as the foundation for the industry’s quality improvement program, Qualicado.