ABSTRACT
AN integrated view of fruit and vegetable quality requires a systems approach for reducing losses and improving consumer satisfaction. In general, systems are formed by integrating components into a functioning whole. The components of a system cannot be understood without considering the system they help to form. Research efforts to improve a system have the purpose of changing existing components or designing new ones. Such changes require an understanding of the new interactions that will result among components of the changed system and interactions with other systems.
