It is reported that the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply recently announced visual quality standards for 17 fruits and vegetables, including the most common categories such as apples, bananas, mangoes, grapes and strawberries. The department said in a statement that this move was intended to "guide consumers to correctly identify the quality of the products they buy."
According to this new regulation, fruit and vegetables sold on the market should be whole and clean. They should be free of visible pests and are naturally or commercially ripened. Fruit and vegetables that have a rotten smell, have deteriorated, or are severely damaged cannot be sold in the market, and should be destroyed or disposed of by the seller upon discovery.
Hugo Caruso, General Coordinator of Fruit and Vegetable Quality at the Plant Quarantine Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, said, "The requirements of importing countries are very high. They have trained professionals to carry out inspections and reject imports that do not meet the visual quality standards."
