ABSTRACT
THIS book is a product of an international conference held in Potsdam to look for greater integration of fruit and vegetable research from crop production to postharvest physiology to quality evaluation to economics. The general conclusions of the conference were that there are many ways to view fresh fruits and vegetables, that research efforts could be enhanced through greater integration of approaches, but that there are many barriers to greater integration. One of the primary barriers is that of terminology, particularly with respect to quality and acceptability. The problem appears not to be a lack of common terms, but rather that the same terms are used from many perspectives but with important differences in meaning. This chapter seeks to bring together different perspectives on these topics to highlight areas of common ground, describe points of contention and propose a series of guidelines that would facilitate greater integration between studies and approaches.
