Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023 - 167

Jéssica de Aragão Freire Ferreira Finger,1,2
Virgínia Farias Alves,4
Patrícia da Silva Malheiros,6
Daniele Fernanda Maffei,2,8
1
Daniela Amaral Costa,3
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
Wilma Stella Giffoni Vieira Baroni,5
Enrique Anastácio Alves,7
and Uelinton Manoel Pinto1,2*
Dept. of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo,
São Paulo, SP, Brazil
2Food Research Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
3Dept. of Nutrition in Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
4Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Goias, Goias, GO, Brazil
5Ceara State University, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
6
Dept. of Food Sciences, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande
do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
7Embrapa Rondônia, Porto Velho, RO, Brazil
8
Dept. of Agri-food Industry, Food and Nutrition, " Luiz de Queiroz " College of Agriculture,
University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Food Protection Trends, Vol 43, No. 1, p. 167-178
https://doi.org/10.4315/FPT-22-027
Copyright©
2023, International Association for Food Protection
2900 100th Street, Suite 309, Des Moines, IA 50322-3855, USA
Minimally Processed Vegetables: Consumer Profile,
Consumption Habits, and Perceptions of Microbiological Risk
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to characterize the profile of
Brazilian consumers of minimally processed vegetables
(MPV) by analyzing consumption habits and perceptions
of microbiological risk. An online survey with 27 closedend
questions was administered using Google Forms.
The survey consisted of questions regarding participants'
demographic characteristics, consumption of fresh
vegetables and MPV, and perception of the microbiological
risk associated with the consumption of MPV. The majority
of the 1,510 participants (77.5%) were women, 42.3%
were 26 to 40 years of age, 42.3% were married, 19.7%
were students, 54.4% had a graduate degree, and 39.4%
had a monthly family income between 5 and 15 times
the minimum wage. Most participants (95.3%) reported
consuming fresh vegetables, but only 45.4% reported
the consumption of MPV. Among MPV consumers,
convenience and practicality were the main determining
factors (77.8%) in the purchase of these products. The
high price of MPV was the main limiting factor (66.4%).
Pearson's chi-square test indicated that only monthly family
income was positively associated with the consumption
of vegetables and the perception of microbiological
risks related to MPV. These data contribute to a better
understanding of the profile of Brazilian MPV consumers
and will be important as an exposure assessment
component of vegetable risk assessment models.
INTRODUCTION
Health authorities around the world recommend the
consumption of vegetables because of the many health
benefits of these products, which are often consumed fresh,
without undergoing processing after harvesting. However,
over the past decades, the consumption of minimally
processed vegetables (MPV), also known as fresh-cut
vegetables, has been widespread in Brazil and many other
countries (9, 21).
MPV are vegetables that undergo one or more processing
steps (e.g., selection, cutting, washing, rinsing, centrifuging,
packaging, storage, and transport) after harvesting (3, 12,
47, 48). Among these steps, washing plays an important
role in the quality and safety of the final product. Sanitizers,
*Author for correspondence: Phone: +55 11.2648.0958; Email: uelintonpinto@usp.br
March/April Food Protection Trends 167

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