Dozens of factors have an impact on the quality of each food product. These variables range from how the product was grown and harvested to how it was packaged, stored and eaten. There are several main factors that have an especially large impact on the final quality of almost all foods that are available to consumers.
Size
Select the smallest fruits and vegetables for the biggest taste and best quality. Berries, peppers and other pieces of fresh produce have more concentrated taste in the smallest packages, so tiny items generally have more flavor.
Larger, commercially grown fruits and vegetables do not always taste as good, but many consumers buy these items anyway because they are often cheaper and offer more quantity for the price. Rather than being naturally large, however, these products are usually grown with pesticides, herbicides, hormones or antibiotics that inflate their size and can result in a loss of flavor and quality.
Color
Choose bright, rich colors in fruits and vegetables for the best taste and quality. According to a food-quality textbook from Delmar Learning, the color of a food is far more important to its quality than the size of the product. Good color indicates freshness in a product, but if the color is dulled or mottled, a consumer can see that it is rotting, spoiled or past its peak.
Texture
Pick fresh produce that feels firm and strong. Some items, such as ripe avocados or ripe oranges, should give slightly to the touch. Most vegetables should be firm and crisp and should snap if you attempt to break them in two. Vegetables that are beginning to decay will wilt or bend rather than snap and stay crisp.
Packaging
Package all leftovers and fresh food properly to keep its quality and freshness high for the maximum amount of time. Store items that can spoil in an airtight container in the refrigerator or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Leaving items uncovered will encourage them to spoil faster.
Freshness
Eat perishable items, such as fruits, vegetables and dairy products, as soon as possible to ensure maximum quality. If an item is picked before it has reached ripeness, such as a banana, it may be preferable to wait until it's ripe; but usually, a product's quality directly correlates with its freshness.
Aroma
Choose fresh foods that have an appealing scent. Food Quality News notes that more than 40 scents are responsible for determining the freshness of some fresh produce items, such as the tomato. A human can't detect all scents that impact food quality, but in general, a product that smells good is of good quality.
Taste
The most obvious indicator of the quality of a food product is its taste. If an item tastes good, it's likely fresh and nourishing. If it's past its prime, it may have a sour, bland or "off" taste.
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