American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

, produce generally refers to fresh

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

and

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

intended to be eaten by humans, although other

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

products such as

dairy products Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

or nuts are sometimes included. In

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

s, the term is also used to refer to the section of the store where fruit and vegetables are kept. ''Produce'' is the main product sold by

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily produce, fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the ...

s (UK, Australia) and

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

s. The term is widely and commonly used in the U.S. and Canada, but is not typically used outside the

agricultural sector Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

in other

English-speaking countries The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Packaging

Produce may be packaged for transport or sale. In parts of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, loose pieces of produce, such as apples, may be individually marked with small stickers bearing

price look-up codes Price look-up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes, or produce labels, are a system of numbers that uniquely identify bulk produce sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. The codes have been in use since 1990, and ...

. These four- or five- digit codes are a

standardized Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

system intended to aid checkout and

inventory control Inventory control or stock control is the process of managing stock held within a warehouse, store or other storage location, including auditing actions concerned with "checking a shop's stock". These processes ensure that the right amount of suppl ...

at places where produce is sold. File:Korea-Andong-Gohari-Harvesting onions-02.jpg, alt=Farmworker puts onions into large mesh bags, Produce may be bagged in the field during harvest. File:Onion box - CO2v01-22421314.jpg, Produce may be packaged for transport in a plastic crate. File:Gemüse auf einem Markt in Gallicano 01.jpg, Cardboard boxes for bulk produce File:Leno bag sample filled.png, Mesh bag used for retail sales File:Spring Onion.jpg, Small amounts may be banded together. File:Sweet onions in a pile.jpg, Bulk produce may be identified by stickers

Bacterial contamination

Raw sprouts are among the produce most at risk of bacterial infection. Rinsing is an effective way to reduce the bacteria count on produce, reducing it to about 10 percent of its previous level. Wastewater used on vegetables can be a source of contamination, due to contamination with fecal matter, salmonella or other bacteria. After Denmark eliminated salmonella in its chickens, attention has turned to vegetables as a source of illness due to feces contamination from other animal sources, such as pigs.

References

External links

{{Authority control Crops Food retailing Edible fruits Vegetables

Packaging

Bacterial contamination

See also

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links