In December 2020, Lidl Switzerland started construction of a new, state-of-the-art fruit and vegetable warehouse in Weinfelden, with the first floor coming on stream in October 2021. The highlight of the project is a high-tech banana ripening facility, which enables the ripening process to be integrated into the value chain.
"At the beginning of March, we received the first shipment of green bananas, which have since been ripened and delivered to our stores," the Swiss food retail chain has now said in a statement.
First bananas ready for consumption from their own ripening facility / Image: Lidl Switzerland.
Ripening process takes six days
The competence center has a total of 18 ripening cells with modern equipment. Each chamber can hold an entire container load of green bananas, which are then ripened for around six days at 24 degrees Celsius and gassed with the plant hormone ethylene. Other tropical fruits, so-called exotics, such as avocados or kiwis, can be ripened in the facility as well.
For more information:
www.lidl.ch