Banana drama: Why the plastic?

Speaking with recent arrivals in Dubai, they are shocked (as was I) to see the use of plastic wrap for things like…bananas. Try as hard as we might it can sometimes be really hard to avoid plastic. It is thrust upon us at every cashier no matter the amount of items bought. The wrapped banana is not new and has been available in Dubai’s petrol stations for at least a year, if not more.

But why? Bananas have a natural skin right?  After a bit of googling I found that the UK and US are just as disgusted by this measure.  Del Monte insists the addition of a clear plastic bag is actually a green measure.

‘The company claims that the bag contains ‘Controlled Ripening Technology’ – which extends the shelf-life of the banana by up to six days.The banana is put into the plastic bag when it is green and, according to the manufacturers, goes on to ripen more slowly than if it had been left in the open air.’

Despite the need for less plastic packaging and more companies realising this, Del Monte said the plastic wrap is really quite helpful. James Harvey, Del Monte’s UK managing director, told the Fresh Produce Journal:

‘Del Monte’s new CRT packaging is designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill. The packaging is also recyclable. It is a great product and consumer feedback shows a marked taste benefit too.’

Bananas are actually quite fascinating. No really. I highly recommend Dan Koeppel’s book ‘Banana – The fate of the fruit that changed the world’. Here’s an excerpt: 

Meanwhile there does exist a banana guard for carrying fruit on treks or to work. It’s a multi-use plastic banana shaped container, and BOOM! protection for your banana. Now that wasn’t so hard was it?

   

The banana guard