A QUAFETY approach to quality monitoring and prediction for fresh-cut produce

'Quafety' is a neologism that pertains to a global approach in considering quality and safety of a food product as a composite strategy. It leads to a sole, all-inclusive objective, consisting of full consumer satisfaction in terms of sensorial and nutritional expectations, with no harmful effects associated with consumption. QUAFETY is the short name for a collaborative 3-year R&D project co-funded by the European Commission (Comprehensive Approach to Enhance Quality & Safety of Ready-to-eat Fresh Products) aimed at improving safety and quality of ready-to-eat fresh produce throughout the whole chain. QUAFETY included 14 partners, including public research institutions and small and medium enterprises, from seven countries (Italy, UK, Portugal, Poland, Netherlands, Greece and Israel), and was diverse in terms of scientific and technological expertise. Objectives of the project were reached by developing diagnostic kits to predict quality and safety of raw material and final product, process control aids based on non-destructive and rapid evaluation methods, decision support tools aimed at critical points in the processing chain and investigation of innovative processes. Monitoring and prediction are part of the "quafety approach" both in terms of early detection and for estimating the fate of the main quality attributes. Among others, results are described using antibody arrays for the identification of molecular markers to predict quality and microbial contaminants, using non-destructive monitoring of quality through volatile organic compound collection and analysis and predicting nutritional quality based on external attribute degradation kinetics. The QUAFETY project ended on 31 March 2015.