How to recognize a high quality banana.

As an importer and distributor I must know how to recognize and select the best fruit to propose to the market, therefore I must be able to evaluate its quality.

Today there are no univocal parameters of quality, or rather the factors that are taken into consideration can vary according to the subject that is in front of us.

The quality of banana from the point of view of producers and distributors.

Exporters distinguish bananas according to their size and cleanliness of appearance. He then determines a classification, for example of first quality, second, third, etc…, but this classification is completely subjective and varies according to the country of origin and the producer.

It seems, however, that some chains of large-scale retail trade determine the quality of a banana on the basis of its shelf-life, therefore the durability of the fruit in the exhibitors. Leaving out other important elements such as origin, seasonality and certifications which determine the level of producers.

Paradoxically, the most important element for some exponents of large-scale retail trade seems to be just the price of the banana.

Bananas can be recognized by their quality.

In my opinion, there are objective elements that cannot be ignored in order to determine the level of quality of a banana.

Origin is an important factor, not all countries are able to produce a high quality fruit because of climatic and environmental issues, but most of all because of a different management of the land and of their agricultural policies, being able to notice this aspect in the choice becomes fundamental.

The time of the year referred to the place of production of the banana is another factor to be considered. We know that in case a banana grows in a period of the year with heavy rains, it will undergo a higher deterioration which will result in a shorter shelf-life.

On the contrary, in case a banana is subjected to a period of drought, it could be affected by problems of ripeness and size.

Selection of producers is fundamental. Producers must be selected according to the international certifications they obtain. Quality recognitions can also affect the final price, but they are essential to determine the quality of the fruit.

The aesthetic factor is important to evaluate the quality of the fruit. Guaranteeing homogeneity in the size and cleanliness of the banana within the supply is a non-negligible parameter.

In order to act on this factor it is necessary a considerable capacity of selection and knowledge of one’s suppliers.

Banana ripening.

Once it arrives in Europe, the fruit undergoes its natural process of maturation in the cell of depression.

If a banana is ripened too fast, it will have a shorter shelf life than if it is ripened slowly and correctly.

The ability of a good ripening company is to respect the ripening times in order to offer the market a product that maintains its organoleptic characteristics and guarantees a longer shelf-life.

Alessandro Dal Bello

Senior Vice President

Dal Bello Sife S.r.l