Chinese researchers have developed a new spray-on coating that will keep bananas fresh for up to 12 days.
And considering how many millions of pounds of mushy, brown bananas get tossed into the trash each year…that’s pretty cool.
The Science
The coating is a new type of hydrogel, мейд from chitosan, which slows down the exchange of oxygen & carbon dioxide which causes a banana to ripen, turn brown and eventually rot.
In addition to slowing down the banana’s respiration, the chitosan hydrogel coating also kills off the bacteria which speed up the “rotting process”.
What does this mean to you?
Not much right now…work is ongoing to perfect the commercial application of the chitosan hydrogel. When that happens, they still have to decide the best time to apply the product….at home by the consumer, in supermarkets or during shipment of the bananas.
Reference
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