Desafios dos desperdícios de vegetais comercializados em feiras livres.

Abstract

As consumption in Brazil is less than 400 grams per day for an adult, the estimated value is below half expected. Investigating the elements related to this result means evaluating different dimensions. One of these dimensions is involved with marketing, for example, losses during this stage are related to the idea of defects linked to the quality of products such as leaves, vegetables and greens. In this way, the objective was to investigate, according to the literature, the challenges of vegetable waste sold in open-air markets. This research was carried out through an integrative literature review, with an exploratory approach. A bibliographic survey was carried out in scientific databases: PubMed,

11 Virtual Health Library, which have recognized resources such as: Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences and Spanish Bibliographic Index in Ciencias de la Salud and in the Scientific Electronic Library Online, using the descriptors registered in Health Sciences Descriptors: “Challenges”; “Food waste”; “Fruits and Vegetables”; "Sustainability". The inclusion criteria? Exclusion criteria and how many works came out of each. Of the 269 articles found, 53 were read in full and 10 were selected for the study, as they are productions that explicitly describe the challenges associated with the waste of fruits and vegetables in open-air markets. Food waste, especially in fruit and the vegetable logistics and distribution chain, is multifactorial. The main findings on key strategies to mitigate waste were improving the promotional value policy, considering the dynamics of supply and demand, and the use of refrigerated transport and cold rooms to preserve products. Such strategies, combined with the provision of differentiated services to customers, aim to offer superior quality products, contributing to the reduction of waste. The identification of alternatives, from interventions in the production chain to the promotion of conscious consumption practices, points to promising ways to reduce this waste. Vegetable waste in open-air markets in Brazil was a demand among the works evaluated to face this challenge.