Organic Banana Sourcing and supply

1. O rg anic B
ananas
Fro m Harve st to Co nsume r
Presented by
Dr. Alan Legge
Technical Director
Mack Multiples Division
United Kingdom

2. KEYS TO QUALITY SUCCESS - PACKHOUSE
•
Field factors mentioned by other speakers, especially deflowering and
avoidance of drift from other nearby conventional crops.
•
Very careful harvesting, handling and transport to packhouse.
•
Fruit of uniform age and maturity.
•
not
•
Stem-Suspended, in source group, under shade with good air circulation
dumped on the ground.
Clean, hygenic, well managed packing station, dedicated to organic
products. If “food-premises” insecticides from the Approved list are used
then 3-5 days must be allowed to elapse before recommencing production.
Only Approved cleaning agents may be used.

3. KEYS TO QUALITY SUCCESS - PACKHOUSE
•
Confirm no flower-ends remain on fruit tips crucial if the risk of
crown-rot / anthracnose is to be reduced.
•
Bore-hole or mains supply water in washing tanks
•
Frequently sharpened knives in use.
•
Approved Organic post-harvest drench or spray; molten wax is
occasionally used to seal the crown, but has an appearance
unappealing to the consumer.
•
Careful handling at every stage of the process.
•
Careful checks at every stage of handling clusters for insects,
amphibians, spiders and any other forms of wildlife which abound in
organic plantations as a consequence of the Organic approach.

4. QUALITY
•
Satisfy all requirements of E.U. Council Regulations
No.2092/91 on organic products…(Rules of production,
inspection, principles of production, materials used, etc.)
Meet the written specifications of the customers for:-
•
Shape / length
•
Maturity
•
Skin appearance
•
Skin blemish
After ripening
•
Uniformity of colouration
•
Flesh colour
•
Absence of progressive defects

5. PACKING
•
Weigh to specified weight to avoid under or over weight (both may
contribute to quality defects)
•
Correct choice of bag

perforated

banavac

M.A.P.
•
Well trained staff
•
Quality Assurance scheme in continuous operation to aid those who are
supplying the fruit, and identify the farmers who need further training

6. PACKING
•
High-quality, recyclable packaging, glued instead of stapled.
•
Full audit-trail information on every carton, plus all legally
required information for:

E.U. Banana Regulations.

Organic Certification.
•
(a
Cooling for fruit available within a few hours of harvest/packing
container with gen-set is the best option).
•
Palletisation at the point of packing is highly desirable to ensure
maintenance of quality and avoid excessive handling / mishandling.

7. TRANSPORT
•
Good quality containers, for best results and to avoid the risk of
ethylene from ship-ripe organic bananas affecting conventional
fruit - both parties require as much physical separation as
possible.
•
•
Fast sailing times
Weekly service - customers must have
continuity of supply
•
All documentation received at the destination
to facilitate rapid clearance from the port

8. RIPENING REQUIREMENTS
•
Well-trained Q.A. staff to provide rapid feed-back of arrival quality to
senders.
•
Entry inspection of every pallet, to arrange separation of ship-ripe affected
cartons.
•
High-quality forced-air ripening rooms, with efficient air circulation and
temperature controls - with the aim of attaining uniform colouration / or
holding arrival quality for a few days
•
Use of 50-100 p.p.m. ethylene to unblock ripening receptors and permit the
evolution of ethylene from the warmed fruit and the subsequent ripening of
the bananas
•
Twice-daily monitoring of the ripening fruit to assess progress and adjust
temperature / air change frequency, as necessary
•
A “low and slow” ripening process is preferable and under this regime,
organic bananas may take 1-2 days longer to achieve a suitable
colour stage
than conventionally grown bananas.

9. CERTIFICATION / ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Bananas from the Dominican Republic
•
Currently “Certified” farm sources - checked by an organisation
listed under Article 15 of EU Regulation No.2092/91. In our
case issued by B.C.S. OKO-Garantie of Nuremburg
•
Bill of Lading
•
Commercial Invoice
•
EUR 1 Certificate (Proof of Origin)
•
Phytosanitary Certificate

10. CERTIFICATION / ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
•
Isolation of fruit at all stages of packing and transport, sufficient to
ensure no risk of “contamination” with Conventionally produced
fruit.
•
Received by a “Certified” ripener - complying with (U.K.) Soil
Association Standard St. 10.101 “plant and equipment must be
dedicated and in separate areas for fresh produce packing.”
•
Banana Licence for fruit from those sources covered by the
current European Banana Regime - hence the need for accurate weighing
in the packhouse; overweight consignments against the licence
tonnage declared can lead to Customs penalties.

11. EXPECTED CHANGES FOR THE YEAR 2000
•
Importer will need to declare each consignment of organic
produce to the Authority in charge of verification (probably
A.P.H.A. in the UK). They will look for evidence of:
•
Export Certificate
•
Valid Authorisation issued by UKROFS
•
A physical check may be made
•
A charge will be levied for this service, on a cost basis (which is
thought to be likely to be £10-20 per consignment.) If approved,
will enter into force 6 months after publication.
it

12. THE MARKET FOR ORGANIC FOOD - SOME COMMENTS GLEANED
FROM THE PRESS
More than 80% of all organic fruit and vegetables sold in the U.K. are imported.
The current market for organic produce in the U.K. is worth £400m at retail
Tesco estimates its organic produce sales at £35 m. Waitrose says that organic food
accounts for 13% of its sales. J Sainsbury estimates the U.K. organic foods market
at £450m.
The European market for organic food was estimated at U.S. $4.5bn
Retail Intelligence Ltd estimates that the market for organic food in Austria,
Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and U.K. is now about US$5bn. (The
population of this group represents 79% of the E.U. population.)
Germany is currently the largest market, accounting for 35% of EU organic foods,
a market valued at between DM.3bn to DM.6bn

13. INFLUENCES ON THE MARKET FOR ORGANIC PRODUCE
The market is stimulated by food health scares and safety concerns :
B.S.E. GMO Pesticides Antibiotics Pollution
The trend towards increased consumption has been assisted by the entry
of large food producers and retailers.
In the U.K., about 70% of all fresh produce is sold via multiples, whereas
in Germany and Italy specialist and independents dominate organic sales.
An easily recognised logo will assist sales.
Prices of organic foods is generally 20-40% above prices for equivalent
conventional food.

14. UK CONSUMER SURVEY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1999-10-26
Consumers attitude towards organic food
21% “very interested”
27% “not at all interested”
38% “would change shopping habits and stores to buy more organic
food”
31% “believe it is worth paying more for organic produce”
“If organic was less expensive, 75% would buy more”
“If organic produce was always available, 61% would buy more”
Of those who had purchased organic food in the previous 6 weeks:
72% had bought fresh vegetables
44% had bought fresh fruit
10% had bought meat / poultry
10% had bought bread

19. Mack Multiples Division
The Major Importer / Distributor of
Organic Bananas in the U.K.
Dr Alan Legge
Technical Director
Mack Multiples Division
Transfesa Road
Paddock Wood
Tonbridge
Kent
TN12 6UT
Tel: 01892 835577
Fax: 01892 838249
Email: alan.legge@multiples.mwmack.co.uk