Banana Handbook Production, Postharvest Science, Processing Technology, and Nutrition

The banana is the world’s fourth major fruit crop. Grown in around 1200 varieties and across more than 130 countries, this highly nutritious source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals is the 8th most popular starchy foodstuff in the world, with a per-capita consumption rate of approximately 0.5kg/day in Latin America and more than 1kg/day in East Africa. The USA, Belgium, Germany, Japan, and the Russian Federation are all world-leading importers of bananas. em style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px;"Handbook of Banana Production, Postharvest Science, Processing Technology, and Nutrition gives a unique and in-depth overview of the banana’s value chain, charting its progression from production through to harvest, postharvest, processing, and consumption. Drawing together current knowledge and practices, the book will provide information on innovative storage, processing, and packaging technologies, as well outlining fresh approaches to quality management and the value-added utilization of banana byproducts. Additionally, the fruit’s physiology and nutritional value will be examined, with potential diseases and pests addresses in detail, and the presence and potential effects bioactive and phytochemical compounds identified and explained. No existing book offers as comprehensive and far-reaching coverage of the banana in all its varieties. Furthermore, health-benefitting bioactive compounds – especially antioxidants – have emerged as an important research area in recent years, and there has not yet been a book published that has discussed this topic as it concerns bananas.