Israel consumes over 100,000 tons of bananas per year, or an average of 10 kilos (22 lbs) of bananas per person per year, according to Agriculture Ministry data.
To promote the banana industry, which grosses NIS 150 million (about $35.47 million) each year, the Agriculture Ministry recently issued a guide to growing and marketing bananas.
The booklet provides information to marketers and retailers on banana quality aimed at generating fruit with a longer shelf life.
Classification of banana quality was based on a number of quality indexes, including dirt, cracks, bruises, scratches, decomposition, cleanliness of the banana cluster and more.
The guide classified the fruit according to a discreet grading system: The best are “choice” bananas, grade A bananas are “clean”, grade B are “medium,” and grade C are “poor”.
A choice banana, for example, weighs over 170 grams (about 6 ounces), has a 35-40 mm diameter, and has no cracks, dirt, decomposition, scratches or bruises.
Eldad Mendes, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s Plant Protection and Inspection Services, said the development of quality guides for the local market was inspired by the high awareness of produce quality in Europe.
“Parallel to our export activity, we are interested in raising the awareness of the Israeli consumer to the quality indices of fresh agricultural produce, and teaching him to be an active consumer who knows how to select a product that is satisfactory in quality and price,” Mendes said.