Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Different foods have optimal storage temperatures to maximize shelf life and maintain quality. Storing foods outside their optimal range can lead to spoilage, degradation, or physiological disorders like chilling injury.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let's match each food with its appropriate storage temperature range:
- (A) Banana: A tropical fruit that is highly susceptible to chilling injury (skin blackening, failure to ripen) if stored below about 12\(^{\circ}\)C. The ideal storage temperature is around 13-15\(^{\circ}\)C. This matches perfectly with (I) 13 - 15.6.
- (C) Nuts: Shelled nuts are low in moisture but high in oil, making them prone to oxidative rancidity. Storing them at low, near-freezing temperatures drastically slows down this chemical reaction, preserving their quality for a long time. This matches perfectly with (II) 0 - 2.2.
- (B) Lemon: Citrus fruits are best stored at cool, but not cold, temperatures. An ideal range is often cited as 10-14\(^{\circ}\)C to prevent chilling injury while extending shelf life. This matches well with (III) 12.8 - 14.4.
- (D) Tomato: Ripe tomatoes are best stored at cool room temperatures to preserve their flavor. Refrigeration (below 12\(^{\circ}\)C) can cause flavor loss. However, for short-term holding to slow down over-ripening, a temperature range of 4-10\(^{\circ}\)C is sometimes used, although it is sub-optimal. Among the given choices, (IV) 4.4 - 10 is the most plausible, albeit imperfect, match for short-term storage.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Based on the analysis, the best pairings are A-I, B-III, C-II, and D-IV. This corresponds to option (B).