The food journey

The supply chain of fruits and vegetables, from farm to table, varies depending on the processes the final product has undergone before arriving on the shelves.

Traceability, which is mandatory in the European Union, allows us to follow the production process, helping us consumers to make secure purchases and to know how to correctly preserve what we buy.

Food products are usually divided in five “ranges”:

• the first range is fresh food that has not undergone any treatment.
• The second range includes can products with a long shelf life obtained with treatments like sterilisation, freeze drying and pasteurisation.
• The third range is frozen food to be consumed within the expiry date and to be preserved at the right temperature, like vegetables ready to be cooked.
• The fourth rage is fresh washed food ready to eat, like fruit salad or salads in bags.
• The fifth range is food already cooked, vacuum packed or packed in a modified atmosphere.

Another important notion is “short chain”, which is about every product sold in the same area of production. Sometimes we can even buy them directly from the farmer.