The issue of food waste at farm and supplier level due to high visual quality criteria defined by retailers is an important issue for many Austrian producers and suppliers of fruit and vegetables. In the framework of a sustainability program initiated by an Austrian retailer, the topic was discussed in several product-specific stakeholder workshops. Surveys with farmers and suppliers of fruit and vegetables for Austrian supermarkets gave some data on the share of losses at harvest and at supplier level.

visual quality criteria; fruit and vegetables; food loss; food waste; quality management