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Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland

Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland
Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland
Objective Neighbourhood differences in access to fresh fruit and vegetables may explain social inequalities in diet. Investigations have focused on variations in cost and availability as barriers to the purchase and consumption of fresh produce; investigations of quality have been neglected. Here we investigate whether produce quality systematically varies by food store type, rural–urban location and neighbourhood deprivation in a selection of communities across Scotland.

Design Cross-sectional survey of twelve fresh fruit and vegetable items in 288 food stores in ten communities across Scotland. Communities were selected to reflect a range of urban–rural settings and a food retail census was conducted in each location. The quality of twelve fruit and vegetable items within each food store was evaluated. Data from the Scottish Executive were used to characterise each small area by deprivation and urban–rural classification.

Setting Scotland.

Results Quality of fruit and vegetables within the surveyed stores was high. Medium-sized stores, stores in small town and rural areas, and stores in more affluent areas tended to have the highest-quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Stores where food is secondary, stores in urban settings and stores in more deprived areas tended have the lowest-quality fresh produce. Although differences in quality were not always statistically significant, patterns were consistent for the majority of fruit and vegetable items.

Conclusions The study provides evidence that variations in food quality may plausibly be a micro-environmental mediating variable in food purchase and consumption and help partially explain neighbourhood differences in food consumption patterns.
1368-9800
2044-2050
Cummins, Steven
af945c4e-6089-4698-bf10-3d0db8d63307
Smith, Dianna M
e859097c-f9f5-4fd0-8b07-59218648e726
Taylor, Mathew
f62c9b0b-1e49-4960-84f7-df717d8aef66
Dawson, John
553fc390-7bde-4e8f-a115-976c3bb60e6b
Marshall, David
31369571-7dd9-4f4e-9071-287892d6be3b
Sparks, Leigh
862868a2-62c4-4e60-b0ea-13ed5a77a906
Anderson, Annie S
4568986e-6c4f-4e55-97ab-a18e24b045a3
Cummins, Steven
af945c4e-6089-4698-bf10-3d0db8d63307
Smith, Dianna M
e859097c-f9f5-4fd0-8b07-59218648e726
Taylor, Mathew
f62c9b0b-1e49-4960-84f7-df717d8aef66
Dawson, John
553fc390-7bde-4e8f-a115-976c3bb60e6b
Marshall, David
31369571-7dd9-4f4e-9071-287892d6be3b
Sparks, Leigh
862868a2-62c4-4e60-b0ea-13ed5a77a906
Anderson, Annie S
4568986e-6c4f-4e55-97ab-a18e24b045a3

Cummins, Steven, Smith, Dianna M, Taylor, Mathew, Dawson, John, Marshall, David, Sparks, Leigh and Anderson, Annie S (2009) Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland. Public Health Nutrition, 12 (11), 2044-2050. (doi:10.1017/S1368980009004984).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective Neighbourhood differences in access to fresh fruit and vegetables may explain social inequalities in diet. Investigations have focused on variations in cost and availability as barriers to the purchase and consumption of fresh produce; investigations of quality have been neglected. Here we investigate whether produce quality systematically varies by food store type, rural–urban location and neighbourhood deprivation in a selection of communities across Scotland.

Design Cross-sectional survey of twelve fresh fruit and vegetable items in 288 food stores in ten communities across Scotland. Communities were selected to reflect a range of urban–rural settings and a food retail census was conducted in each location. The quality of twelve fruit and vegetable items within each food store was evaluated. Data from the Scottish Executive were used to characterise each small area by deprivation and urban–rural classification.

Setting Scotland.

Results Quality of fruit and vegetables within the surveyed stores was high. Medium-sized stores, stores in small town and rural areas, and stores in more affluent areas tended to have the highest-quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Stores where food is secondary, stores in urban settings and stores in more deprived areas tended have the lowest-quality fresh produce. Although differences in quality were not always statistically significant, patterns were consistent for the majority of fruit and vegetable items.

Conclusions The study provides evidence that variations in food quality may plausibly be a micro-environmental mediating variable in food purchase and consumption and help partially explain neighbourhood differences in food consumption patterns.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 18 December 2008
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 February 2009
Published date: 2009
Organisations: Population, Health & Wellbeing (PHeW)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 382510
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/382510
ISSN: 1368-9800
PURE UUID: 9bba31fc-53a4-49e0-80a8-8bbb855b2364
ORCID for Dianna M Smith: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0650-6606

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Date deposited: 27 Oct 2015 14:37
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:53

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Contributors

Author: Steven Cummins
Author: Dianna M Smith ORCID iD
Author: Mathew Taylor
Author: John Dawson
Author: David Marshall
Author: Leigh Sparks
Author: Annie S Anderson

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