It’s Fresh! to save over 250 million bananas a year with innovative filter

30 Mar 2018 --- It’s Fresh! has successfully developed a filter system capable of prolonging the ripening period of bananas in a bid to avoid high levels of food waste during transportation. Company researchers have suggested that if just a small amount of exporters adopted this new technology, over 251 million bananas could be saved from waste each year around the world.

Circular economy and resource efficiency experts, WRAP, estimate that the UK alone currently consumes over 5 billion bananas each year, and throws away 1.4 million each day. Many of these bananas are perfectly edible, but a lack of public awareness leads consumers to dispose of discolored bananas.

In addition, high levels of bananas are wasted in transit. Industry regulations currently require bananas to stay green during shipment and distribution. If they are not, they are deemed unsalable and go to waste.

Innovators in sustainability, It’s Fresh!, have tackled the problem head-on by inventing a new filter system capable of extending the ‘green life’ of bananas, meaning fewer are lost in transit, and the fruit remains fresher for longer in the homes of consumers. The filter system can also be used for other fruits and vegetables. It is already adopted by several large supermarket chains who are now able to prolong the shelf life of such products by an estimated 2-4 days.

A series of independent post-harvest tests in Costa Rica confirmed that the filter successfully absorbs the ripening hormone – ethylene – from banana’s transit environment, doubling the ‘green’ period to an average of 70 days. Even more impressively, the filter system was shown to be more environmentally-friendly than pre-existing methods.

“From the work that I have conducted, It’s Fresh! undoubtedly enhances the life and quality of green bananas providing clear commercial advantages for the supply chain,” says Dr. Manuel Madrid, the test manager with over 25 years’ experience in the field.

Bananas are the world’s most exported fruit and represent one-third of UK imported fruit. Ecuador is the biggest exporter, with banana shipments to far-away countries like China, Russia or the Middle East generating significantly high levels of carbon footprint and avoidable food waste.

Simon Lee, the founder of It’s Fresh!, said: “We are committed to reducing food waste globally and this means addressing issues throughout the production process, as well as in our supermarkets and homes. Our findings enable us to demonstrate the power of this technology, reducing global waste as well as well as helping growers and importers across the world.”