FreshPlaza, partner for dissemination within the EU project QUAFETY on the quality and safety of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, opened in 2012 the "Quafety - Fresh cut management" section on its websites: www.freshplaza.it (in Italian), www.freshplaza.com (in English) and www.freshplaza.es (in Spanish). From January 2012 to date, more than 150 articles have been published in the Quafety section of each website and several topics have been considered, such as:
1. Cultivar for fresh-cut chain;
2. Cultivation systems and agricultural practices;
3. Pre- and postharvest treatments to control fungal diseases;
4. Storage conditions and techniques to maintain safety and quality;
5. Sanitation methods during fresh-cut processing;
6. Packaging and Modified Atmosphere Packaging;
7. Microbial safety, especially on bacterial pathogens;
8. Technologies and innovations for fresh-cut industry;
9. Tools and devices for quality and safety management systems;
10. Technologies to prolong fresh-cut fruit and vegetable shelf-life.
The articles published are the result of:
a. scientific research and demonstration activities conducted by scientists and SMEs directly involved in Quafety;
b. selection of several studies published in the last three years in international journals of plant production, physiology, pathology, chemistry, food biotechnology, microbiology, post-harvest biology, etc.;
c. studies and news received directly from research institutes and fresh-cut industry players.
In terms of views number, for Spanish Section Quafety, that besides Spain collects all Spanish-speaking countries, the most read article of 2013 has reached 7536 views, while the most read article of 2014 reached 2198 views. For the Italian section Quafety, the most read article of 2013 has reached 5497 views, while the most read article of 2014 has reached 1520 views.
For the English (International) section Quafety, 44 articles were published in 2013 and 66 in 2014. The most read article of 2013 has reached 4252 views, while the most read of 2014 reached 3247 views. Below are the top 10 most read articles in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Due to the longer presence of the articles published in 2013 on Freshplaza websites compared to those published in 2014, the first have obtained in the course of time a number of views higher compared to more recently published articles.
| Articles 2013 | Views Number |
| Fresh-cut baby spinach off-odour development inside the package still an unresolved problem | 4252 |
| Suitability of early potato cultivars to be processed as fresh-cut product | 3318 |
| Postharvest storage of whole fruit affects fresh-cut melon | 3270 |
| UV light and ultrasound to inactivate bacteria in fresh-cut produce | 3086 |
| Something different, but still British grown | 2937 |
| Fresh-cut Romaine lettuce: the relevance of good irrigation practices | 2828 |
| Early, intermediate and late peach varieties for fresh-cut industry | 2803 |
| How to preserve broccoli for up to 28 days | 2573 |
| What factors influence respiration rate of fresh-cut pineapple | 2535 |
| Heat treatments and the postharvest quality of fresh-cut spinach | 2503 |
| Articles 2014 | Views Number |
Atmospheric pressure cold plasma treatment on strawberries | 3247 |
| Evaluating the effects of gamma radiation on raspberries | 3056 |
| QUAFETY project reveals how nitrates and glucosinolates can indicate nutritional quality in rocket | 2376 |
| Absorbent mini containers perfect for healthy consumer convenience | 2355 |
| UK Fresh Pod technology keeping food fresh in the catering industry | 2316 |
| Wet pulsed light treatment for blueberry decontamination | 2102 |
| Scientists study the effect of edible coating on fresh-cut melon | 2095 |
| Mathematical model to predict Listeria growth in fresh-cut melon | 2025 |
| QUAFETY project shows consumer preferences toward fresh-cut produce | 1934 |
| Ozone effect on fresh-cut lettuce, spinach and parsley | 1919 |
Due to the interest of our readers as regards research and technological innovation, FreshPlaza, being the first fresh produce portal to introduce a scientific research section addressed to fruit and vegetables, will continue in this mission even after March 31, 2015 , the deadline of the QUAFETY project.