Adding gas to speed up the ripening process of bananas is gaining popularity as a green, safe food practice all over the world. The Beijing Xinfadi Market recently built a climate-controlled banana warehouse that is already in operation. The warehouse has 10 storerooms lined up and is designed to process 3,000 boxes of bananas every day. Zhang Zhongyi, the "King of Bananas" in the Market, explained that the processing volume in this warehouse is still low because the warehouse only processes imported bananas at the moment. Domestic bananas are first delivered to the Gaobeidian Branch Market to undergo a process that encourages fruit ripening.
Zhang Zhongyi further stated that bananas are harvested when they are green because they spend much time in long-distance transport. However, green bananas do not easily ripen without encouragement. The bananas are therefore treated before they enter the market. The new, climate-controlled warehouse helps to supply the market with bananas when they are just at the right point in the ripening process. The old-fashioned method takes too long and is difficult to control. The risk of large volumes of bananas entering the market around the same time is therefore higher and the price therefore lower. However, ripe bananas are difficult to store and need to be sold before they turn brown.
Source: cnfood.cn