Disclosed herein is a method and process for preserving plantain banana. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Plantain Banana (Musa paradisiaca) is one of the. most important commercially produced fruit of the tropics. The banana is the 4th largest commercial crop produced, after rice, wheat and maize. Out of the total amount of banana produced worldwide, nearly 85% is used for local consumption and only the remaining 15% is exported. The plantain banana provides about 25% of the required calories for nearly 60 million people in the African continent itself. However, plantain banana is a fast degrading food product and losses its shelf life upon ripening. The post-harvest loss is reported as much as 35 - 60% of the total produce. This is mainly due to improper handling, diseases, ripening, low shelf-life etc.
POST HARVEST ISSUES
Plantain banana is a fast degrading food product and losses its shelf life upon ripening. The post-harvest loss is reported as much as 35 - 60% of the total produce. This is mainly due to improper handling, diseases, ripening, low shelf-life etc. The maximum shelf life achieved for plantain banana is 2 - 8 days. To extend this shelf life, harvesting is done during maturing stage itself, where the green color remains. Sometimes the plantain is harvested in its pre mature stage itself. This will be taken to outside markets for sale. If the banana has not achieved the required ripeness at that time, it will be treated with carbide, which is actually an unhealthy practice.
Ethylene is the main player in the ripening of plantain banana. The unripe
banana shows constant but low levels of ethylene until the onset of ripening.
The plantain banana gets its properties changed in various aspects upon ripening
such as texture, color, taste etc. The texture of the plantain banana gets softens

during the process of ripening. The shelf life of the plantain banana is largely depended on the following factors:
1. Loss of turgor- this is largely a non-physiological process associated with post-harvest dehydration of the fruit.
2. Degradation of starch- the starch present in the fruit starts degrading upon ripening. The sugars sucrose, glucose and fructose get accumulated. Sugar is present in low levels when the plantain is raw, as low as 1 - 2%. However, upon ripening the sugar level reach up to nearly 15 - 20% in the plantain. Starch on the other hand, is present in high levels when the plantain is raw, up to 15 - 20%. However, upon ripening the starch levels falls down to as low as nearly as 1 - 2% in the plantain.
3. Breakdown of fruit cell wall - this occurs mainly due to the enzymatic, microbial and chemical reactions taking place in the fruit. However, the osmotic pressure exerted on the individual cells during the water activity within the fruit also shows an impact of the fruit cell wall damage. The structural changes observed in pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose together are considered responsible for the alteration of cell wall structure during ripening related loss of firmness.
The main microbial issues related to the post-harvest losses in plantain banana are as follows:
1. Crown rot - this is the development of microorganisms at ideal weak spots of the fruit, such as ruptures, blunt cuts, handling injuries etc. The symptoms include softening and blackening of tissues of skin. This could be minimized by following Good Handling Practices (GHP).
2. Cigar - End - Rot: This is another common disease found in the plantain bananas which is caused by fungal growth. The symptoms of this infestation are localized darkening and wrinkling of skin.

3. Banana bract Mosaic disease: This is caused by the infestation of mosaic virus. The disease can get so severe and can result in the crop loss to nearly 40%. The appearance of dark reddish - brown mosaic pattern on fruits and flowers of the plantain banana is the single most widely seen symptom.
DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART/ EXISTING METHODS OF PRESERVATION
Blanching
Blanching is a traditional and widely used method for vegetable and fruit preservation. The main purposes of blanching are to inactivate enzymes that cause quality loss in the product during frozen storage and to reduce microbial load on the surface of vegetables and fruits. Peroxidase (POD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) are the most heat stable enzymes present in vegetables and their deteriorations have been used widely as indicators of sufficient heat treatment. Generally, it has been accepted that if POD is destroyed then it is quite unlikely that other enzymes survived (Halpin and Lee 1987)
Physiological attributes and chemical composition of vegetables and fruits are changed by cooking, as is texture. In some cases, blanching negatively affects the product. For instance, blanching degrades and leaches nutritive components, such as sugars, minerals and vitamins (Cumming et al. 1981; Rincon et al. 1993; Vidal-Valverde and Valverde 1993). Rockland (1978) reported that cooking lima beans caused leaching of calcium and magnesium into the cooking water as well as starch gelatinization and protein denaturation.
However, blanching can improve the quality of vegetables and fruits including color stability and in texture while decreasing microbial counts
(Gokmen et al. 2005).
Blanching is considered a pre-treatment when applied to foods before
entering the main processing steps. The application of blanching, which varies
™_frnmulomestic boiline pots to commercial-Male.blanchers, depends on product

characteristics and the intended use of the final product. Generally, one of four blanching systems is utilized and include: Steam blanching, Water blanching, Gas blanching, and Microwave blanching. In the food industry, blanching is a process typically used to remove air in the product prior to canning, to prevent ice crystal formation during freezing, to destroy enzymatic activity and to prevent color changes of a food product (Reyes de Corcuera et al. 2004). Song etal. (2003) determined that blanching of vegetables at a high temperature and for a short period of time (100 °C for 10 min) prevented loss of color, reduced hardness, and lessened leaching of sugars and water-soluble vitamins compared with other temperature-time
combinations.
Longer blanching times caused more color and nutritive value losses. In agreement with Lo et al. (2011), carrots subjected to high temperature short-time (HTST) blanching contained more total galacturonic acid and total sugars in pectins than carrots blanched for a long time at low temperatures (LTLT).Two common commercial blanching methods deployed were
Water blanching, where samples were immersed into boiling water for designated times and temperatures. Water blanching usually results in a more uniform treatment, allowing for lower processing temperatures. Water usually is heated indirectly with steam in a heat exchanger. Therefore, water quality must be "food-grade" (Reyesde Corcuera et al. 2004), and
Steam blanching; where the mixture of food-grade steam and water (100 °C) directly heat the product in a heating chamber. Blanching time is controlled by the speed of the conveyor carrying product through heating (-hnmherStfar". hunching usually is used for cut and small products and it is

more energy-efficient and produces lower biological oxygen demand (BOD) than water blanching. In addition, nutrient leaching is reduced compared to water blanching (Reyes de Corcuera et al. 2004).
Retort Processing
The concept of thermal processing, which primarily involves in-container sterilization of foodstuff has come a long way since Bigelow and Ball developed in 1920, the first scientific basis for calculating the minimum safe sterilization process. In all its forms of application, thermal processing persists as the most widely used method of preserving and extending the useful shelf life of foods. The concept of in-container sterilization (canning) involves the application of a high-temperature thermal treatment for a sufficiently long time to destroy microorganisms of public health and spoilage concerns. The hermetic seal maintains an environment in the container that prevents the growth of other microorganisms of higher resistance and most importantly, prevents recontamination and pathogens from producing toxins during storage.
Over four decades ago, thin-profile and agitated retorting were developed to promote rapid heating to minimize the impact of heat on quality attributes. The retortable pouch has re-emerged as a packaging alternative for both conventional and aseptically processed foods. Different time-temperature combinations, and obviously different processing methods, systems or techniques could be employed to achieve required lethality. Such systems and related time-temperature histories would affect the quality of the end product to different extents. Therefore, minimum changes to the sensory and organoleptic attributes of food products are always sort through process optimization routines to determine system appropriateness using kinetic data for the most heat sensitive nutrient. The time-temperature history of a product undergoing thermal treatment will depend on several factors that include but are not limited

to: (i) the processing system (conventional(static or agitating retorts, hydrostatic retorts)) or aseptic systems,
(ii) The heating medium (steam, water immersion, water spray, or steam/air mixtures),
(iii) Product characteristics including consistency, solid/liquid ratio, and thermo physical properties,
(iv) Product initial and heating medium temperatures, and
(v) Container type, shape and size.
Effect of heat on quality and nutritional attributes: Minor changes occur to the nutritional and sensory characteristics do occur for most pasteurized foods from the mild heat treatment
• Vitamins: Vitamins are among the most sensitive food component to be affected by heat sterilization. Vitamin degradation during heat treatment is not simple and dependent on other agents such as oxygen, light and water solubility.
Browning: Even mild heat treatment can trigger Maillard reactions, which are a complex series of reactions between proteins and reducing sugars via Amadori re-arrangements.
Proteins: The effect of thermal processing on proteins can be divided into two: those responsible for altering the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins and those that alter the primary structure.
Color: The color of processed foods plays a role by influencing consumer acceptability. Natural occurring pigments in foods are susceptible to changes or degradation from heat. Chlorophylls(in photosynthetic tissues), anthocyanins (the red and blue hues associated with many fruits and vegetables), carotenoids (found in fruits, dairy products, egg, fish and vegetables) and betanins(present in red beet roots and meat) form the major

Thin profile processing: flexible pouches
The retortable pouch was developed during the 1960s in the USA, by a consortium of food packaging/processing companies working in conjunction with the US Army Natick Laboratories. The retort pouch is a 3-ply multi-layer flexible packaging consisting mainly of polypropylene, aluminum foil and polyester. To enhance its strength, nylon has also been added as an additional layer. Pouches can withstand sterilization temperatures up to 130 °C, making it amenable to HTST operations. Coupled with its thin profile, retortable pouches allow more rapid heat transfer than cylindrical metals and glass containers of equivalent volume. Traditionally, retortable pouches are sterilized in batch-type retorts with custom designed racking systems. The concept of high-temperature short-time (HTST) and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processing involves the sterilization of the food product (in a direct or indirect heat exchanger), followed by holding to achieve required lethality, and rapid cooling to minimize the impact of heat on nutrients. Packaging of the product is done in a sterile environment where a sterilized product is introduced into sterilized packaging materials (using hydrogen peroxide either alone or in combination with other sterilants) of different shapes, sizes and colors. In contrast to in container sterilization where most lethal effect occurs at the end of the heating stage and beginning of the cooling phase, commercial sterility in HTST operations occurs in the holding tube at a constant temperature within seconds.
Convenience food
The Convenience food or tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have a long shelf life, or offer a combination of such convenient traits. Convenience foods include ready-to-eat dry products, frozen, foods s^hasTV dinners, shelf-stable foods, prepared mixes such as

cake mix, and snack foods. These were developed with improvements in food technology. Types of convenience foods can vary by country and geographic region. Various methods are used to reduce the unhealthy aspects of commercially produced food and fight childhood obesity.
The Convenience food is commercially prepared for ease of consumption. Products designated as convenience food are often sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or frozen food products that require minimal preparation (typically just heating). Convenience foods have also been described as foods that have been created to "make them more appealing to the consumer. Convenience food usually requires rudimentary preparation. It typically cost more money and less time compared to home cooking from scratch. These products are often sold in portion-controlled, single-serving packaging designed for portability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following presents a simplified summary of the specification in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the specification. This , summary is not an extensive overview of the specification. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the specification nor delineate the scope of the specification. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the specification in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later. The object of the invention is to develop ready-to-eat boiled banana by thermal processing methods. The Optimization of the parameters and standardization of the proportions also forms part of the objective of the invention.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide as briefly described, Determination of process time and process temperature by heat

penetration studies and thus to increase Shelf life, to ensure the safety and acceptability of the product.
The following description and the annexed drawings set forth certain illustrative aspects of the specification.
These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the specification may be employed. Other advantages and novel features of the specification will become apparent from the following detailed description of the specification when considered in conjunction with the drawings. The main objectves that development and evaluation of ready-to-eat boiled banana by thermal processing methods, determination of process time and process temperature and shelf life studies based on microbial and sensory analysis to determine the safety and acceptability of the product. The scope of this invention lies in the development of the value added and cost - effective food product from plantain banana to cater to nutritional requirements and to meet the market needs and improvement of conservation and transformation techniques of the product, and the reduction of post-harvest losses for a more consistent supply.
Other systems, methods, and/or devices according to the exemplary embodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or devices be included within this description, be within the scope of the exemplary embodiments, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The objectives of the invention will become apparent after consideration of the following description of the invention and its preferred embodiments detailed hereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
The various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way that would limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged communications system. The

understood that these are provided to merely aid the understanding of the description, and that their use and definitions in no way limit the scope of the invention. Terms first, second, and the like are used to differentiate between objects having the same terminology and are in no way intended to represent a chronological order, unless where explicitly stated otherwise. A set is defined as a non-empty set including at least one element.
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. The objects and many attandant advantages of the invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description which is to be considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference symbols designate like parts throughout the figures thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Raw materials
1. Plantain Banana
2. Citric acid
3. Retort pouches
Tests to be conducted
> Determination of moisture content
> Microbiological plate count (103 - 106, by serial dilution)
> Reducing sugars
> pHTest
> Browning
> Polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO in banana)
> Sensory analysis of the product

Determination of moisture content:
The method of determination of moisture content of the watermelon - grape fruit bar is followed as per the FSSAI manual of methods of analysis of food, lab manual 5.
Procedure
1. Initial moisture content of the fruit bar sample was determined, by using the
hot air oven.
2. 5g of the sample was taken in a pre-weighed petri dish and dried at a
temperature of 105°C for 3 hours.
3. This was repeated until the differences in weight between two successive weights became approximately similar
4. The amount of moisture was calculated using the following formula and the moisture content is expressed in percentage
Moisture content (w.b. %) ~ (Initial weight (a) - final weight (gl) * 100
Initial weight (g)
pH Test:
lg of pulp sample (i.e. product sample) was taken and crushed well to make a paste like consistency. This paste was taken and made up to 100ml in a standard flask. After the solution is made, it is taken for checking the pH by dipping the electrode of the equipment in the vessel containing the solution. The reading is displayed which is noted.
Browning test:
The browning of the sample was measured as described by Coseteng and Lee. Frozen sample (5g approx...) was homogenised in 40ml distilled water for 2 minutes and then centrifuged at 800g for 10 minutes in cold. One hour after homogenisation, 15 ml of 95 per cent ethanol was added to 10 ml of supernatant, shaken and centrifuged again at 800g for 15 minute. Browning intensity was determined spectrophotometrically by taking absorbance at 440nm.

Estimation of Reducing sugars-Principle
Sugars are members of carbohydrate family. Examples include glucose, fructose and sucrose. Some sugars can act as reducing agents and these sugars will contain an aldehyde functional group. This property can be used as a basis for the analysis of reducing sugars. For example Fehling's solution contains copper (II) ions that can be reduced by some sugars to copper (I) ions. This reaction can be used for the quantitative analysis of reducing sugars.
Reagent preparation
1. Fehling's reagent A- dissolve 34.65 g of copper sulphate in distilled water and
make up to 500 ml.
2. Fehling's reagent B- dissolve 125 g of potassium hydroxide and 173 g
Rochelle salt (Potassium Sodium Tartrate) in distilled water and make up to 500 ml.
3. Methylene blue indicator- dissolve lg methylene blue in 100 ml of water.
4. Glucose solution- weighs lg of D-glucose and dissolve in water and make up the volume to 100 ml.
Procedure
• Standardization of Fehling's solution
5 ml of Fehling's solution A and Fehling's solution B was pipetted out into a conical flask and 40 ml of distilled water was added to it and mixed well. A pinch of pumice stone was added and the solution was kept for boiling. Simultaneously glucose solution was added from the burette and the flask containing the mixture was heated till it reached boiling. 1 ml of methylene blue indicator was added and the titration was continued till the end point reached reddish-brown. The burette reading was noted and the steps were repeated to get concordant values. The standard was calculated as follows:
Factor of Fehling's solution = titre value * concentration of glucose solution
(B)Estimation of reducing sugar
Take 10-25g of sample (fresh fruit or fruit product) and grind in a pestle and mortar, blend in blender, add 100ml water. Neutralize solution with IN NaOH. Boil gently for

1 hour with stirring. Replace water lost during evaporation, cool and transfer to 500ml volumetric flask. Make volume to 500 ml and filter through whatman filter paper 40.
Pipette 100 ml aliquot from filtrate in 250 ml flask, add 2ml 45% lead acetate, let it stand for 10 minutes then add few drops of 22%potassium oxalate and made volume to250ml with water an filter. Add 2 ml 45% neutral lead acetate solution. Pipette 10ml of mixed Fehling's solution (5ml each of Fehling A and B) and few ml of water into 250ml conical flask. Heat the flask containing mixed Fehling's solution on a hot plate and add the sample (clarified sugar) solution drop wise from the burette/pipette till faintest blue color remains. Add 2-3 drops of methylene blue indicator and complete the titration till the color changes to brick red. At the end point, note the readings and calculate the reducing sugars.
% Reducing Sugar = Factor of Fehling solution x Volume made x 100
Titre x Wt. of sample x ml of aliquot
RGB color chart:
The RGB color chart is used for the sensing, representation and display of the measurement of the primary color components of light, which are seen by the human eye (Red-Green-Blue). This "tristimulus" color measurement provides data on how much of these three components are present in the light reflected (solids) or transmitted (typically liquids) by a food product. This data may be used to improve the "eye-appeal" to determine factors such as degree of ripeness and spoilage, shelf-life and disposal cycles.
Microbial analysis:
The microbiological parameters of the product namely bacteria, yeasts and mold counts were determined initially in the raw material and during the storage period of 30 days after specific interval of one week. It is done to check the growth of microorganisms that are present in the product which tells us that whether the product is microbially safe for consumption. The microbes are found by preparing samples via serial dilution.
• Serial dilution: lOg of sample was homogenized in 90 ml of 0.1% peptone
water under sterile condition to make 10A-1 dilution. Then from this one ml of
solution is transferred to 9 ml of sterile water to make 10A-2 dilution. Dilutions
are made up to 10A-6 and appropriate dilutions are plated. The dilution is made
up to 10A-6 to check the stability of microorganisms that are present in the
sample

Sensory Evaluation of Retorted Banana
The acceptability test of the retorted banana was carried out using 14 members selected among the undergraduate, postgraduate students and staffs of Food processing and engineering department. The samples were evaluated for their appearance, color, flavor texture, taste and overall acceptability. A 9 scale hedonic scale was used which rated as follows 9 - Like extremely, 8 - Like very much, 7 -Like moderately, 6 - Like slightly, 5 - Neither like nor dislike, 4 - dislike slightly, 3 -dislike moderately, 2 - dislike very much, 1 - dislike extremely. The samples were codes as SI, S2, S3, S4 respectively for the various treatments done prior to retort processing.
Prior to the test, the respondents were briefly explained about the project and were asked visually evaluate the product acceptability for appearance and color and then the respondents were asked to taste the product for the evaluation of the acceptability of texture and taste. Water was provided in between evaluation of each sample. The data collected from the sensory evaluation was subjected to Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) to identify the significant difference in the overall acceptability of different treatments over the time period of 30days.
Standardisation/Optimisation
1) Test conditions:
Blanching time: 90seconds
Temperature: 121c
Process time: 15 minutes In the first trail, the main aim was to observe the effects on retort processing on the plantain banana, and to understand if the technology is applicable on the fruit, for further continuation of the project. Here, the trail test temperature was set as 121c since it was the most effective retorting temperature. The time was limited to 90 seconds as this trail was basically a study on the effects of retort technology on plantains. Also, the plantain bananas kept for trail were of different cuts, ranging from one full banana in a pouch as a whole, to pieces of banana, with or without neel

2) Test conditions:
Blanching time: 180seconds Temperature: 12Tc±1.5c Process time: 20 minutes Anti-browning methods:
> Lemon water
> Soda water
> Blanching
The second trail was conducted on the basis of the inference obtained from the first
trail, where we understood that retort technology of preserving foods is also applicable
for plantain banana. The second trail was to estimate the effect of this thermal
processing on the product and also to analyse the browning effects of each samples
that are different from each other in one way or the other. These differences incudes
the different treatments given for the samples, such as lemon water wash, soda water
was and blanching. Also they include different sizes, ranging from whole banana in a
single pouch to sample bananas cut into 1 cm thickness, with peel or without peel etc.
This will help in understand the overall effects of retorting in the plantain, browning
effeas^etcT^fiax ^

helps achieve the maximum quality product, with minimal damages and maximum customer acceptance. NB:
>* Samples were opened after 24 hours of retort processing
> All samples were dipped in boiling water for water blanching except for. the
last set of trails. 1) Lemon Water:
(Samples dipped for 3 minutes maximum)
In this, the samples were washed in a freshly prepared lemon water solution, prior to retort processing. The samples include both peeled and unpeeled plantain bananas.

3) BLANCHING: Blanching was performed to inactivate the enzyme actions that take place in the fruit, which pave way to the browning of the same while retort processing. Two types of blanching were performed namely, the immersion blanching and the steam water blanching.
A) Immersion blanching:
Immersion blanching was performed by dipping the banana in hot boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. The bananas treated by immersion blanching are labelled as "A" along with the serial number.
B) Steam water blanching:
Steam blanching was performed by keeping the bananas under hot steam water condition for nearly 3-4 minutes with the lids closed, ensuring the steam is not getting wasted. The bananas treated by steam water blanching are labelled as "B" along with the serial number.

OBSERVATIONS:
1) LIME WATER SOLUTION:
Unpeeled samples with a thickness of 2cm or more showed more desired color achievement.
However, the sour taste from the lime water was felt in some or most samples, which increased with decreasing thickness.
• Also, a slimy surface was formed on small (1cm) unpeeled as well as peeled samples.
• The bigger pieces maintained color up to an extent, but most showed presence of brownish shades partially, except the large (3cm unpeeled) sample.
INFERENCE:
The samples 10 (3cm unpeeled) as well as a new sample- Banana half unpeeled can be considered for future sample making in bulk quantities.
2) SODA WATER:
• Unpeeled samples with thickness more than 2cm showed achievement
of desired color, texture and structure. However most unpeeled samples had
low sugar content when it came to taste.
INFERENCE
• Samples 11 (half unpeeled) and 15 (3cm unpeeled) could be utilized for
producing bulk amounts under soda water treated batch.

The blanching operation was conducted in two ways:
• Direct water blanching(Immersion blanching): The bananas, upon cleaning and removal of unwanted parts were directly dipped in boiling water for a time period of 2.5 minutes.
• Indirect, steam water blanching: The clean, cut bananas were placed on a rack which was then steam blanched for approximately 3 minutes after closing the lid, ensuring no leakage of steam is created.
The hot water-stem blanched samples showed more desirable properties in areas of color, texture, taste and overall product acceptance when compared to the immersion blanched samples.
Also as the immersion blanched samples comes in direct contact with the heating medium (water), the loss of essential vitamins and minerals makes it less preferable when compared to the steam blanched samples.
• The sample 17 showed better color, texture and firmness than other immersion blanched samples. Also it has a better, desired taste.
• The sample 23 showed almost all the parameters of the desired product successfully in areas of color, appearance, taste, firmness etc.
It was also observed that this sample was the best outcome obtained out of the three treatments done for anti-browning. Rest all of the samples in NSB showed brown color development with an unexpected sour taste for samples 18 and 22.
INFERENCE:
The sample parameters of 18 and 24 can be implemented upon bulk production of the samples for estimation of shelf life studies.

SAMPLE SHELFL1FE QUANTITY ESTIMATION:
The trails done previously were very much helpful in finding out the best outcomes under retort processing of plantain banana. These data will help to project the answers for the questions like the effects of thermal treatment on plantain banana, why the size of the plantain banana is as it is in each pouch, what if the size of the plantain banana is changed, which packet was the most acceptable and desirable for the customers, what all treatments were applied for the sample etc.
From analysing and understanding the outcomes of the previous trails, I was able to draw a conclusion that out of the whole samples, two samples showed highly acceptable results without any compromise. They were like perfect models to proceed for the shelf life studies. They showed high customer acceptance, highly acceptable color, odour, flavour and appearance etc. Based on these results, it was decided to go further for the main procedure, the shelf life studies, keeping in mind the parameters set for these two outcomes. The shelf life studies were planned for 45 days, with one sample planned to be kept under ASLT (accelerated shelf life study). The quality parameters were the main priority to be checked and analysed throughout the whole period of shelf life studies, along with the sensory evaluation, to understand the customer acceptance.
Sensory panel : 14Nos.
Number of days : 45 (March 6th - April 20th)
Number of trails : 5 (with 10 day interval)
1 sample packet : 1 banana (approx. 200g)
1 banana serves : . 4 people
Total no. of packets
required for sensory : 4 packets
Methods to be followed:

The plantain bananas were treated in four major methods, namely Steam Blanched, having 2 cuts, Citric acid +steam blanched with 2 cuts, Peeled + Citric acid + steam blanched with 2 cuts and Citric acid +steam blanched having 4 cuts. The sensory, microbial and other chemical and nutritional quality parameters are discussed below in the results and discussions below.

Statistical analysis from Sensory evaluation
Increased competition and new opportunities stimulated by progressively vanishing trade barriers and expanding world markets have greatly accelerated the food industry's world-wide requirement for new products, quality improvements, extended shelf-life, increased productivity, and lower production and distribution costs. Sensory evaluation is a critical component to that process. Historically, sensory evaluation has often been associated with product experts, and later as a more passive member of the product development team. Here, sensory was conducted to analyze food samples for improvements. The data obtained by graphical representation of the values marked by the sensory panel shows a clear picture of the exact results.
When we observe the web chart from the responses on Day zero, we could see that sample 2 tries to keep up with every parameter set for the sensory. Sample 1, 3 and 4 achieves points at some parameters but losses terribly at some other points.
This trend continues as we observe the web chart from the responses on Day ten, we could see that sample 2 tries to keep up with every parameter set for the sensory. Sample 1, 3 and 4 achieves points at some parameters but losses terribly at some other points. In fact, the sample 2 gains more acceptances in most of the parameters. However, sample 3 scores least in meeting all the parameters.

When we observe the web chart from the responses on Day 20, we could see that sample all samples tries to keep up with every parameter set for the sensory. Sample 1, 3 and 4 achieves points better than the last sensory at some parameters but losses at some other points. Sample2 consistently achieves increased acceptance as per the data.
. When we observe the web chart from the responses on the last day, Day 30, we could see that sample 2 tries to keep up with every parameter set for the sensory even after 30 days. Sample 1 and 4 achieves points at some parameters but losses t at some other
. points. However the sample 3 shows significant loss at multiple parameters when compared to its own results at day 20.

Data from Microbiological Plate Count:
The microbiological parameters of the product namely bacteria, yeasts and mold counts were determined initially in the raw material and during the storage period of 30 days after specific interval of one week. It is done to check the growth of microorganisms that are present in the product which tells us that whether the product is microbially safe for consumption. The microbes are found by preparing samples via serial dilution. Serial dilution: Dilutions are made up to 10A-6 and appropriate dilutions are plated. The dilution is made up to 10A-6 to check the stability of microorganisms that are present in the sample. There was no significant microbial growth observed in all the retorted pouches. This is mainly due to the reason that the retort processing of foods is done after the product gets tightly sealed and the product, after the process gets over, does not comes in contact with the outer surface in any manner. The highest colony count observed in 10"3 was 123 colonies and the least found in the 10"6 dilution was 17 colonies, which was not changing throughout the shelf life studies. So, from the microbiological data, it can be stated that the product is safe microbiologically.
pH Test:
lg of pulp sample (i.e. product sample) was taken and crushed well to make a paste
like consistency. This paste was taken and made up to 100ml in a standard flask. After
the solution is made, it is taken for checking the pH by dipping the electrode of the
equipment in the vessel containing the solution. The reading is displayed which is
noted. The samples maintained a low-acid profile, with pH values within the range of
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4.5- 5.5 and this was in the acceptable ranges, as per the standards of fruits and vegetables.
RGB color chart:
The RGB color chart is used for the sensing, representation and display of the measurement of the primary color components of light, which are seen by the human eye (Red-Green-Blue). This "tristimulus" color measurement provides data on how much of these three components are present in the light reflected (solids) or transmitted (typically liquids) by a food product. This data may be used to improve the "eye-appeal" to determine factors such as degree of ripeness and spoilage, shelf-life and disposal cycles.
Out of the samples tested, the sample 2 showed maximum color to the original boiled banana. However, the RGB Color values of the final product were noted.
The method of determination of moisture content of the watermelon - grape fruit bar is followed as per the FSSAI manual of methods of analysis of food, lab manual 5. The moisture content was checked during the 10 day interval for a period of 30 days. The samples were weighed (approximately 5g each)and taken in separate petriplates (whose weights are noted earlier). This petriplates were kept in hot air oven for 5hours, at 130c, while the weights were continuously monitored after half an hour interval, past the first 2 hours of drying. The weight of the samples reduced to nearly half the initial weight. This indicates that the samples consists nearly half part of water. This value was approximately equal for all the samples during the shelf life studies for 30 days, even though they were inside a retort pouch. The tables regarding sensory analysis is provided.
_ J

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described hereinabove, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense and that all modifications, constructions and arrangements which fall within the scope and spirit of the invention may be made.

I claim,
1. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana which increases
the shelf life of the banana up to 100 days applied with the retort
processing of plantain banana involving following steps successively:
a. Blanching
b. Vacuum packing
c. Retort processing (High Temperature Short Time)
2. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in claim lwherin, the banana is thermally processed which implies the controlled use of heat to control the rates of reactions in foods which involves the sterilization of the food product (in a direct or indirect heat exchanger), followed by holding to achieve required lethality, and rapid cooling to minimize the impact of heat on nutrients.
3. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in claiml where in the banana is Blanched, vacuum packed and retorted plantain banana Packaging of the product is done in a sterile environment where a sterilized product is introduced into sterilized packaging materials of different shapes, sizes and colors.
4. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in claiml starts with (indirect/steam) blanching the plantain banana which helps in maintaining the product acceptability, acts as a pre-treatment for the removing the germs and also gives a maximum level of the desired color for the plantain banana.
5. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in claiml wherein after blanching the product is Packaged in a sterile environment, the product is Vacuum sealed avoid any issues related to microbiological growth and it helps to create an isolated environment for maintaining the product quality.
6. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in claim 1 wherein following vacuum sealing is the retort pouch processing; the HTST uses a little amount of time whereas the results are brilliant in terms of shelf life expectancy and also retention of plantain's required color, texture.
7. A method and process, for preserving plantain banana as claimed in
claiml which helps in reduction of post-harvest losses in the agricultural