Drying kinetics of banana

Research focus and interest on banana (Musa spp.) in recent times has been due to its nutritional and economic importance. Dessert bananas are popular in modern westernized diets due to its nutritional potential. Banana drying has become necessary in order to reduce microbial activity and product spoilage, and to extend storage life. Knowledge of the drying kinetics is essential for the control and optimization of drying process, any subsequent or further processing and quality of final product. Furthermore, the application of adequate pretreatment(s) before drying banana helps keep the fruit from darkening during drying and storage, speeds up the drying operation and minimizes the effects of the operation on some quality parameters of banana. In this review we examine the drying kinetics of banana with regards to pretreatments applied to the fruits prior to drying, overview drying models for the description of drying characteristics and summarize drying methods and moisture transport properties during drying.