Classification criteria for Cavendish bananas and a framework to indicate the correct destination

The quality classification criteria are one way to evaluate and classify bananas to the correct destination keeping them safe for human consumption and advantages increased. However, in Brazil, vegetable and fruits quality classification are not mandatory. This paper investigates the bananas quality criteria classification in Alto Tietê Region in São Paulo, Brazil, and proposes a framework to correct the destination of this product. We collected data from 12 wholesalers and evaluated a total of 239 bananas considering quality criteria. The results showed that the sample parameters had good classification with an average of gross and net weight of 156.49 ± 39.62 and 98.57 ± 30.60 respectively, length of 21.12 ± 2.35 and caliber of 37.07 ± 3.08. Almost 54% of bananas were classified as Class 18, 31% as Class 22, and 15% as Class 15. We found an association among quality criteria and bananas classification (p < 0.05). Thirty-eight percent of the total of bananas evaluated was free of defects, but 62% showed the different kinds of defects. We have realized that the further away the wholesaler is from São Paulo city, the market tolerated fruits out of standard. In addition, considering the banana classification, our correct destination framework indicated that 44% of bananas should be sent to the organic fertilizer industry, 17% to the animal feed industry, 1% to the human food industry, and 38% to new sales in the market to human consumption. We conclude that some wholesalers in the Alto Tietê Region offer inappropriate bananas to human consumption based on quality classification criteria.