Bananas are climacteric fruits with high respiration rates and are highly sensitive to ethylene. They are picked on size
When It Comes To Shipping Bananas, This Option Has “Ap-peel”
(Regulated Atmosphere)
(Controlled Atmosphere)
Bananas are climacteric fruits with high respiration rates and are highly sensitive to ethylene. They are picked on size and will continue to ripen after harvest, hence causing their sugar content, color and flavor to change. Climacteric fruits have a large increase in the production of heat, ethylene and CO2 during the ripening process.
Gas composition in container (%)
Oxygen/Carbon dioxide composition in SMARTcare container 25 20
As a result, it is now possible for them to travel anywhere from 35 to 50 days, thus opening distant markets. With more precise atmosphere control, bananas shipped using SMARTcare solution also tend to have a longer shelf life than conventional vacuum-packed bananas.
15 10 5 0
0
78.5 156.5 234.5 312.5 390.5 468.5 527 Time (hours)
• Oxygen is reduced significantly by cargo’s respiration after more than 2 days or 59 hours • Ethylene removal capability is critical at this stage
Reading is taken at 30min intervals Oxygen % calc. Carbon dioxide %
APL-924
SMARTcare has the ability to help bananas achieve and maintain their ideal in-transit atmosphere which: • Delays rate of cargo ripening via optimal combination of humidity, CA atmosphere and temperature • Helps cargo to ripen over a much longer period of time • Extends shelf-life and allows longer transit time up till 50 days • Reduces respiration and ethylene production • Delays ripening and softening of fruit
For longer voyages, SMARTcare+ is able to prolong shelf-life even further by gas flushing with food grade nitrogen to achieve optimum atmosphere. APL has successfully used SMARTcare and SMARTcare+ to transport bananas from Ecuador to Japan, other Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and many more.
For more information, please contact your APL sales representative or visit www.apl.com
