Flavor and quality changes in fruits and vegetables in the United States caused by application of pesticide chemicals

Author(s):  
Charles H. Mahoney
2020 ◽  
pp. 147078532094833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary William Anesbury ◽  
Kristin Jürkenbeck ◽  
Timofei Bogomolov ◽  
Svetlana Bogomolova

When purchasing packaged products within a supermarket, consumers choose between proprietary or private label brands. However, when purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables, non-branded produce is the dominant option—with proprietary and private label brands only recently becoming available. Previous fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) research finds that proprietary and private label brands affect consumer loyalty—however, no research exists for fresh categories. This research is the first to determine the effect of emerging brands in fresh categories on consumer buying behavior. Our research examines consumers’ loyalty toward proprietary, private label, or non-branded fresh fruits and vegetables and the level of customer sharing between these options, using analytical approaches applicable to FMCG categories. The panel data contains nearly 46,000 households making over 8 million purchases in the United States during 2015. Results show that proprietary, private label, and now non-branded fresh produce have expected loyalty levels, for their size, and consumers share their purchases across the three options (i.e., consumers are not loyal to just one option). The study analyzes and interprets purchase data in fresh categories offering marketing academics and practitioners actionable advice for working with fresh produce purchase data.


1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 352-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy F. Subar ◽  
Jerianne Heimendinger ◽  
Blossom H. Patterson ◽  
Susan M. Krebs-Smith ◽  
Elizabeth Pivonka ◽  
...  

Purpose. The purpose of the Five A Day Baseline Survey was to assess fruit and vegetable intake and associated factors among US adults. Design. Questionnaires querying frequency of intake of 33 fruits and vegetables, as well as demographics, attitudes, and knowledge related to fruits and vegetables were administered by telephone. Setting. The study was a nationally representative random digit dial survey conducted by telephone in the summer of 1991; response rate was 42.8%. Subjects. Respondents were 2811 US adults (including an oversample of African-Americans and Hispanics). Measures. Mean and median self-reported intakes of fruits and vegetables were calculated. Estimated servings per week were adjusted on the basis of responses to summary questions regarding overall fruit and vegetable intakes. Results. Median intake of fruits and vegetables was 3.4 servings per day. Linear regressions (accounting for no more than 10% of the variation) showed that education, income, and smoking status were predictors of fruit and vegetable intake and that intake increased with education, income, and nonsmoking status. Women had higher intakes than men at all ages; these differences between men and women increased with age. Fruit and vegetable intakes increased with age for whites and Hispanics, but not for African-Americans. Conclusions. Fruit and vegetable intake among adults in the United States is lower than the recommended minimum of five daily servings. These data will be useful in targeting campaign efforts and in assessing progress of the Five A Day for Better Health Program.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donglan Zhang ◽  
Mary E Cogswell ◽  
Guijing Wang

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk has been linked to dietary components in many studies, but the associated reduction in CVD healthcare costs with dietary improvements has not been systematically evaluated. Hypothesis: CVD healthcare cost savings associated with an improvement in dietary metrics are substantial. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and ABI/Inform to identify population-based studies published between January 1990 and December 2014 on CVD healthcare costs related to a dietary component. The selected dietary components, in accordance with those identified by the American Heart Association in their 2010 Strategic Impact goals, included salt/sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables, fish/omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains/fiber. Other selected dietary components, based on AHA’s secondary dietary metrics, were nuts, processed meat and saturated fat. For each dietary component, we evaluated the CVD healthcare cost savings if the current consumption level were to be changed. Results: In 329 articles obtained, 15 studies evaluated the healthcare costs associated with one or more of dietary components: salt/sodium (n=12); fruit and vegetables (n=1); meat (n=1); saturated fat (n=3). The majority of studies (n=11) used an incidence-based approach, and the remaining were prevalence-based analyses. Adjusting the costs to 2013 US dollar values using consumer price index and purchasing power parity exchange rate, reducing average sodium intake by 1.2 g/day could save $1794 per person per year in the United Kingdom. Reducing individual sodium intake to 2.3 g/day could save $1955 per person in the United States. Increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables from <0.5 cup / day to more than 1.5 cups / day could save $1481 per person in the United States. Conclusions: In conclusion, reducing sodium intake and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables could substantially reduce CVD costs. Few studies were available on the cost savings associated with dietary components for cardiovascular health. These results suggest a need for economic studies using high-quality cost information and the most recent evidence to predict long-term cost savings.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
Mary Brauchla ◽  
Mark J. Dekker ◽  
Colin D. Rehm

Low intakes of fruits and vegetables have resulted in suboptimal intakes of several micronutrients, including vitamin C. This cross-sectional study used data from 84,902 children/adults (≥1 y) who completed a 24-h dietary recall as part of the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2018). Mean vitamin C intakes from foods/beverages were calculated as were trends in major food/beverage sources of vitamin C. Percentages below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) were estimated. Overall, mean vitamin C consumption declined by 23% (97–75 mg/d; p-value for trend < 0.001). 100% fruit juice was the leading source of vitamin C (25.6% of total or 21.7mg/d), but this declined by 48% (25–13 mg/d; p-value for trend < 0.001). Whole fruit increased among children/adolescents (+75.8%;10–17 mg/d; p-value for trend < 0.001), but not adults, while the vegetable contribution was generally unchanged. The proportion of the population below the EAR increased by 23.8% on a relative scale or 9 percentage points on an absolute scale (38.3–47.4%). Declines in vitamin C intake is driven largely by decreases in fruit juice coupled with modest increases in whole fruit. Due to associations between vitamin C intake and numerous health outcomes these trends warrant careful monitoring moving forward.


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