One of the most popular fruits in the global diet is the banana. Its nutritional value is well-known but it does suffer from one drawback: it gets mushy quickly. The Daily Mail UK reported that bananas are harvested while they are still green and then treated with ethylene to initiate ripening before distribution and sale.
It takes around 4 -5 days after the ethylene treatment before the bananas start to turn yellow. It is at this point that bananas are put on sale. After turning yellow, however, bananas become unsuitable for sale after just 2 -3 days. Extending their shelf life can mean enhanced market value and less wastage, the Financial Express reported.
A new dip called LPE, a phospholipid, doubles the shelf life of bananas. This compound is naturally found in egg yolks and soya beans. "Previous studies conducted in our laboratory have demonstrated that both pre and post harvest application of lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) can retard ageing and improve shelf life of various fruits," researchers said.
Daiji World noted that the bananas were at the "ripeness stage" or around 75% green when they were dipped in LPE. The dip was a 500 ppm solution and the bananas were soaked for 30 minutes. "Five days after dip treatment, the fruit treated with LPE were firmer and thicker as compared with the untreated control."
50 uniform bananas were treated and bananas from the same batch were used in a control group. "Starch breakdown was also delayed in the LPE-treated fruits. LPE treatment slowed the development of brown spots on the peel tissue," the paper noted.
The study was a joint effort between Jiwan Palta from University of Wisonsin-Madison and Zienab Ahmed from University in Egypt. Their research was first published on HortScience. The economic and environmental benefits of this relatively simple method make it a worthwhile experiment to further explore and hopefully commercialize in the future.
The longer shelf life of your favorite bananas could mean a lot of savings and less wasted food. Share this article to share the good news!