I n tern ati on al I N TERN ATI ON AL ORG AN I ZATI ON G reen Bananes Fi rst edi ti on U DC Descri ptors FOR STAN DARDI ZATl ON M EI Kfi YH APOAH AFi Ban an as vertes G u i de - - Stan dard pou r G u i de l’entreposag e et l e OPrAH kl 3ALWl R to ilO CTAH ~ APTl 43Al J M M ORG AN l SATl ON storag e an d I N TERN ATI ON ALE D E N ORM ALI SATI ON tran sport transport 980-07-01 Ref 634 773:664 037 : ag ri cu l tu ral produ cts, fru i ts, ban an as, storage, tran sportation , N o I SO931 =1 980(E) speci fi cati on Price based on pag es Foreword I S0 (the I nternational Organi zati on nation al standards in sti tu tes nation al Standards i s carri ed body in terested ri gh t to and be i n a su bj ect represented on non-g overnm ental, Draft I nternational the m em ber the I S0 for I S0 wi th adopted by before I S0 was al so the thei r work take of federati on devel oping com m i ttees com m i ttee I nternational I SO, approval The tech ni cal a tech ni cal com m i ttee l i son i s a worldwi de bodi es) through whi ch that Standards bodi es I n ternation al Standard food I t was su bm itted of the Di recti ves has Every been set organi zati ons, part techn i cal acceptance i n the up of I nterm em ber has the govern m ental work com m i ttees are as I nternational ci rcu l ated to Standards by 931 devel oped by Tech n i cal Com m i ttee di rectl y for the to the I S0 tech n i cal whi ch had Cou nci l , work been of i n accordance I SO I t can cel s approved by the wi th and m em ber cl au se repl aces bodi es 51 I S0 of I ndia Portu gal Bu l g ari a I ran Rom an ia Col om bi a I srael Czech osl ovaki a Korea, Egypt, of part the foll owin g Arab Rep of Thail and N orway H u ngary Pol and I n tern ati on al Swi tzerl an d had expressed Org an i zati on for U nited Ki n gdom Yu g osl avi a New body of U SSR France m em ber Rep N etherl ands Greece No 34, Recom m en - : Au stral i a in I SO/TC produ cts R 931 -1 969, cou n tri es Pri n ted out for Standardization) m em ber Cou n ci l Ag ri cu l tu ral dation in for (I S0 Zealand di sapproval Stan dard i zati on , of the docu m ent 980 I N TERN ATI ON AL G reen I S0 STAN DARD - ban an as G u i de to storag e I ntrodu cti on the cu shi on s ble Bananas shou l d cou n try of to the tran sport, in precl i m acteri c A banana process be stored, pl ace transport the green and conditi on from the and, the sai d be in has the not therefore precl i m acteri c yet been phase of tropi cal su b-tropi cal of an and ecol og i cal di m en si on al afford and takes in when the Scope Th i s cl i m ati c preci se (i n ki n d of i ts of drou ght) si derabl e I t fol l ows (fu l l n ess) cri teri on a period havi ng of the banana of year in vari ati on s that the degree m ay the state been m entioned, becau se wh i ch are i t i s not recog ni zed possi beyond not A thin ri pen ess fi eld wi th M u ss sp , transport su m ption appli cati on Standard keepin g, before of or i n the from and descri bes withou t di ti on s arti fi ci al precl i m acteri c the place of du ring m ari ti m e of h arvesti ng for the cool i ng , phase of du ring produ ction to su cgreen storage the pl ace of transport of does be i n an advanced and I nternational cessfu l throughout not treatm ents the i ni tiated pl ace regi on s devel opm ent a banana of bananas have i ndi cate bananas, H arvesti ng tran sport period to ripen in g to (E) dispu te exporti ng throughout phase is of before of su m pti on an d 931 -1 980 degree Con di ti ons and pu tti ng i nto store ripeness M oreover, the du ration days of to degree of transport, ri peness whi ch to be ch osen vari es depends si derabl y on (from the H arvesti n g a few The weeks) degree of determ i ned The the produ cer degree pati bl e sh ou l d of ri peness wi th therefore the For th i s ri pen ess (see on l y of du cer, As a general who to and cannot ch eck the be be thei r for factors serve his : as wi th i s com cu tti ng of the du ration state for the of and a pointer to the a bu nch of bananas i n different room between I t shou ld m ay rem n the banana harvesti ng not in ripen in g the be too the and in n orm al harvesti ng and the pu tting advanced, precl i m acteri c room at of i ts fi rm n ess i nto i n order phase u n ti l diti on s of shou l d n u m ber the be of days ripen in g that the bananas they are put i nto tran sport of l Cri teri a of ri peness be pro- The cri teri a of ripeness - the fu l l ness, - the col ou r m ost wh i ch general l y u sed i s a di m ensi on al in practi ce are : cri teri on ; m ay states wi th el apsi ng of the can cu tti ng speci fy of degree for to that fu l l n ess) cri teri a fru i t essenti al so ti m e appl i cable own ri peness, grapes carri ed The u n i versal l y on i t i s therefore i s to bananas ph ysi ol og i cal whi ch of the recom m endati on s decide a bunch and from di sti n ct the natu re to of envi saged two exam i nati on be l i ken ed the has regards ri peness, on reason ) cu ttin g (as esti m ated transport banana the transport depends refrig erated ti m e ri pen ess as a fu nction what of fru i t ou t of ph ysi ol og i cal state ti on al scal e col ou r the flesh, and wh i ch i s assessed enabl ing a is by a cri teri on m eans n u m eri cal of val u e of the a convento be ob- of the tained; The they th i s state of enter is the the the bananas store, (state has j u sti fi cati on an for of health, in fl u en ce m aki n g wounds, on the etc ) , storage when l i fe, and - on th i s ph ysi ol og i cal state penetrom eter (wi th recom m en dati on s su bject the a spri ng The sam e harvestin g hi gh term bananas can to bananas tem peratu re su n li g ht The appl i es the of appreciably cu l tl ’var entering is i nto the precau tions and the pu tting to th em produ cin g redu ce u sed to taken the areas the storage in di cate com m erce be in to are and between store that 24, exposu re to -the the vari eti es of vari eti es These grown another, Anti-fu ng al treatm en ts of the ends of the m n stal k wh i ch of the and fl esh , is whi ch a cyl i n d ri cal i s redu ced is m easu red end i n length by a cri teri on m eans mm by of a spri ng i n di am eter, 00 m m u nder and a force N); The l i fe cu l ti vated of fi rm n ess or ends of cu ttin g the ch aracteri sti c precl i m acteri c cri teri a in the and are not sam e the odou r of the fl esh val i d and, of the banana in phase u n i versal l y way, produ cer they shou ld can vary decide for from on each one h i s own cu l ti var regi on to cri teri a for IS0 931 -1 980 (El 2.1 Examination for degree - of ripeness Examination for the degree of ripeness of a bunch of bananas should be carried out by using the representative fruit found in that part of the bunch which is in the most advanced state of ripeness, i.e in the first or second hand reckoned from the largest end of the main stalk The representative fruit is the centre fruit of normal shape in the inside row of the first or second hand The degrees of ripeness of the fruits of the first and second hand can be considered as equal in bunches, in bags of perforated polyethylene; - in bunches, enclosed in a protective mattress which allows gas exchange and has a thermal conductance sufficient to ensure satisfactory cooling (straw, paper, etc.); - in uncovered bunches, arranged in bulk This method of storage should be carried out with very great care in order to avoid damaging the bananas, which would lead to deterioration during transport and ripening 2.2 Qua1 ity cha racteri sties for sto rage and transport The bananas should be free from signs of attack by fungi, bacteria, insects or animal pests, and should be free from parasites They should not be injured by fungal or physiological diseases In order to avoid the development of fungal diseases during storage, the fruit should be clean It should not be stained with sap and the fruit stalks should be intact The main stalk of the bunches should not show marks of sunburn and its two sections should be fresh, clean, and without smears, tears or breaks The bananas should be free from evident marks of rubbing, scra ping, bru ising or sunburn Cooling of the bananas should be carried ou t as rapidly as possible It depends on the following factors : Removal of the pistils should be carried out in those producing areas where the climate and conditions of cultivation favour the development of rot It should be carried out on the tree itself if the size of the banana tree allows this 2.3 Putting into store The bananas should be put into cold store for long journeys, or into ventilated store for short journeys, as soon as possible after harvesting The interval between cutting the bunch and putting it into a refrigerated or ventilated enclosure (prerefrigeration room, storage room or ship’s hold) should be less than 24 h if possible, and should not in any case exceed 48 h After harvesting and packaging, if the bananas are awaiting land transport to the port of embarkation, they should be put in the shade and in a well ventilated place the waiting time of lorries or At the port of embarkation, wagons loaded with bananas, before transfer to the ship’s holds, should be reduced to the minimum and the vehicles should be in the shade 2.4 Method of storage Green bananas should be stored : - in hands or portions of hands (clusters) in cartons; Optimum (with artificial storage cooling) conditions Refrigerated storage and transport of green bananas comprises two phases : cooling and storage 3.1 Cooling 3.1 Rate of cooling - the power of the refrigeration plant (of the order of 700 to 800 calories per hour per tonne of bananas) With a central refrigeration plant, and loading of the banana vessel divided between two days, it is possible to apply the whole of the refrigerating power of the vessel to the first half of the cargo from the start of refrigeration and to dispose of more than 000 calories per hour per tonne of bananas; - the air circulation the uniformity the load; - air; ratio’) in each ventilation across the surface of each package in contact with the cooling - the efficiency of ventilation ternal short-circuits of the air); effect of external and in- - the mode of packagi ng (polyethylene board boxes of different kinds); - section; and speed of the air circulation wrappers or card- the method of storage (compact or in stacks); - the met :hod of loading the banana vessel (continuously or in days with an interva I of h at night) ) ,&i-c~~c~/~t~c~n ratio is defined as the ratio of the volume of air passed in h by the fans to the volume and transport of the empty chamber IS0 931 4980 (E) 3.1 Temperature The following values are given as indications only : The temperature of the bananas is lowered from 25 to 30 OC, which is that of the bananas on loading into the ship’s holds, to the practical storage temperature (see 3.2.1 ) Cultivar Period of storage days Gros Michel 3.1 Relative humidity The relative humidity of the air at the delivery side varies whilst the bananas are being cooled because the working range of the cold batteries is not stable It increases at the end of cooling, when it should lie between 85 and 90 % at the entry of the delivered air into the banana compartments 3.1 Air circulation An air circulation ratio of 80 to 00 per ventilation section (collection of compartments, usually two, depending on the same fan or fans) is recommended Petite naine (Dwarf Cavendish) 3.2.2 The rate of air change’) recommended is one change per hour, but it may be reduced to half a change per hour during cooling in order not to retard this 3.2.4 Temperature Throughout the period of maritime transport, after cooling of the bananas, it is necessary to ensure that the practical storage temperature of the delivery air is maintained at the value adopted This is achieved by adding to the critical storage temperature (the temperature which induces damage to the bananas due to cold) a safety margin sufficient to take account of unavoidable temperature fluctuations arising fom the refrigeration plant and its operation ( + 0,2 to + 0,5 OC for a refrigeration plant using brine; + 0,5 to +0,7 OC for a direct expansion plant) The critical temperature for bananas is not constant, its value depending on the cultivar considered, on the degree of maturity of the crop, its sanitary state, and the duration of the maritime transport 12 16 12 The surface of the air coolers should be designed so that a relative humidity of 85 to 90 % is obtained at the cold point of the refrigerated enclosure in the stabilization period when the cooling of the bananas is completed 3.2.3 Air circulation 3.2.1 14 Relative humidity The ventilation system recommended is that with vertically ascending or descending air in series (two compartments superimposed and separate by a slatted floor), with a uniform distribution of air over the surface at the suction side or the delivery side Each compartment is traversed by all the air delivered by the fans and consequently its air circulation coefficient is double that of the ventilation section 3.2 Storage 12 1 to 14 Lacatan Poyo ( Robusta) Grande naine (Giant Governor) Critical temperature*) OC 12 4,4 12 During storage, the air circu ation ratio may be reduced to half after the end of the cooling period The recommended rate of air change is one change per hour Ripening Ripening of the bananas during storage should be avoided by all possible means Ripening is accompanied by an increase in the production of carbon dioxide and by the production of ethylene, which is liable to trigger the ripening of the adjacent bananas Experience in storage shows that with an efficient ventilation system, ensuring continuous sweeping of all parts of the load by the air circulating in the holds of banana vessel, and with continuous changes of fresh air, carbon dioxide and ethylene can be removed without any action on the adjacent fruit The occurrence of an abnormal percentage of ripe bananas on discharge of the banana vessel arises from four causes which should be avoided : - keeping at ambient temperature at the port of arrival; - defects in ventilation; - defects in the refrigeration plant - loading of bananas at too advanced a stage of ripeness; ) The rate of air change is the ratio of the volume of outside air introduced into the refrigerated enclosure in h to the volume of the empty enclosure 2) Critical temperature is the temperature from or below whit h I for a given period of storage, P hysiolog ical disorders are produced or it is not possible to obtain normal ripening when the product is taken out of storage This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank