The two most important factors for quality
assurance of strawberries are temperature and rapid
marketing. Fresh strawberries are one of the most
popular items in the produce case; however, strawberries
are also one of the most perishable of fresh commodities.
The berries are very fragile and susceptible to
mechanical injury, their thin skin results in rapid loss of
water in low humidity environments and strawberries
have one of the highest respiration rates of all fresh
commodities. For these reasons, establishment of a
successful quality assurance program is essential to a
profitable marketing program for strawberries.