I just recently started working at Sprouts Farmers Market and when they told me that the "manufacturer" of the bananas sprays a gas on them to make them ripen, of course I was worried. It is so crazy the lengths we will go to control nature. I've done some googling and found out it is Ethylene that they spray on bananas and other fruits/veggies. Does anyone know if there is negative side effects to this gas kind of like there is with GMO and non-organic produce? Any science out there on it?
-Curiously questioning things, Andrea
Replies
Ethylene H2C=CH2 source wikipedia.
Apparently spraying Ethylene has been happening since at least 1931.
Reminds me of the gas that use on meat to make it redder. "The fact is that as much as 70 percent of meat sold in stores is treated with carbon monoxide to keep the meat a deceptively fresh looking red color." by Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
"The red color is the problem, say Kalsec, consumer groups and several lawmakers. The gas not only keeps meat red while on the shelf but after it's spoiled." usatoday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2471398?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-supermarket-meat-is-alwa...
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-10-30-kal...
Thanks for your reply! As I do not eat meat, I'm not too concerned with only god knows whats been sprayed on it. But thanks for the links!
No need to worry. Ethylene is a completely natural plant hormone synthesized by nearly every plant. The Banana even puts off it's own Ethylene. That is why you can use it to ripen other fruits by trapping it in a bag.