Being able to offer a high and constant quality will be an important step to increase the consumption of tropical fruits. Managing the quality of tropical fruits is difficult for one individual link in the supply chain; a chain-wide approach is therefore required. With the SPOT-IT project, FTK and EC-Pack  develop instruments to get a better control of fruit quality in the post-harvest chain.

To continue the world-wide market growth for tropical fruits, it is essential to enhance consumer satisfaction. Fruits have to be ripe, tasteful and attractive. Moreover, the consumer wants fruits with predictable quality.

Fruit quality is the sum of many factors: product and cultivar, growth location and -conditions, timing of harvest, handling, transport and storage conditions and much more. To enable chain-partners to manage product quality, three major questions have to be answered:

1. What information is to be collected at each phase of the logistic chain?
2. How is quality information communicated in the distribution chain?
3. How can the information be used in the chain to make better handling decisions?

SPOT-IT introduces a need for information exchange between partners in the distribution chain. The approach includes two-way information exchange:

• Downstream information flow: In order to optimise handling in the distribution chain, the grower and exporter provide relevant information. This includes information on origin, specific growth conditions (drought and rain), specific handling and maturity at harvest.
• Upstream information flow: In order to optimise growth and harvest, the importer (i.c. FTK) provides relevant information on quality development to the grower and exporter. This includes: ripening behaviour, development of appearance, diseases and damages.

In the SPOT-IT project, the three main questions are answered for mangoes. Quality development of mango (represented by firmness) shows large variations depending on the initial fruit quality and the conditions in the chain. The SPOT-IT approach aims to get a hold on the quality development.

From the grower onwards, information on fruit quality and external conditions is collected. This information accompanies the fruits through the logistic chain. At storage points (e.g. distributor FTK) the warehouse manager uses this information in the so-called Treatment Advice Software to decide on the optimal storage conditions to reach the consumer in optimal shape.

Consequently, information on actual quality development is registered and systematically collected. This information includes ripening development, appearance of diseases and damage. This information is transferred to the exporters and growers in order to improve growing and handling practice.

To test and further develop the concepts in the SPOT-IT project, a small-scale pilot is planned with a group of mango-growers and -exporters.

Traditional tracking and tracing concepts focus on managing the logistic process.  SPOT-IT uses information collected during this phase to improve the quality management of perishable products.