Organic Bananas Organic Bananas

From Harvest to From Harvest to ConsumerConsumer

Presented by

Dr. Alan LeggeTechnical Director

Mack Multiples Division United Kingdom

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.

•Stem-Suspended, in source group, under shade with good air circulation

not 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.

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.

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

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

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.

• Cooling for fruit available within a few hours of harvest/packing (a 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 / mis-handling.

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

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.

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

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.

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,

it will enter into force 6 months after publication.

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

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.

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 vegetables44% had bought fresh fruit10% had bought meat / poultry10% had bought bread

Mack Multiples DivisionMack Multiples Division

The Major Importer / Distributor of The Major Importer / Distributor of Organic Bananas in the U.K.Organic Bananas in the U.K.

Dr Alan LeggeTechnical DirectorMack Multiples DivisionTransfesa RoadPaddock WoodTonbridgeKentTN12 6UTTel: 01892 835577Fax: 01892 838249Email: alan.legge@multiples.mwmack.co.uk