Tesco has sent out an 'important' message to customers who buy bananas. The UK's biggest supermarket has put a useful guide on its website.
It tells people how they can stop wasting bananas that aren't fresh anymore. Tesco shared: "Versatile bananas are the UK's favourite fruit: we buy more than 5 billion every year, yet 1.4 million of them are wasted every day that's about 10%!
"Read on for tips to keep them at their best, and some fresh ideas for overripe bananas that go beyond classic banana bread."
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The store told shoppers to "store them right" and explained: "Store bananas on their own as the gases they produce will cause other fruit to ripen and spoil more quickly. Keep them at room temperature too refrigerating will make the skin turn black, and the bananas will transfer their smell to the rest of the fridge's contents."
Tesco also said: "When they ripen, bananas soften and change colour as the starch breaks down and is converted to sugar. Unripe green bananas aren't particularly appealing when raw, but can be used for cooking," reminding us that it competes with Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and others, reports Birmingham Live.
Tash Blythe, a food hygiene expert at High Speed Training, says bananas should not be in a fruit bowl. They are better off on a countertop, "somewhere at room temperature and away from any moisture, sunlight and overly warm temperatures whilst ripening".
"Anywhere too warm will speed up the ripening process, so avoid keeping them near ovens or warm appliances," she advised. She also mentioned: "The ethylene gas is released from the stem of the banana, so to slow the impact of the gas and avoid them over-ripening too quickly, you can also wrap the stems in a plastic wrap or cling film."
"This reduces the amount of gas that will be able to travel down the fruit and therefore allows them to stay fresher for longer."
