How to identify bananas dipped in chemicals to ripen them easily

A few years ago, the incident of hundreds of kilograms of bananas soaked in CO 2,4D herbicide to harden the fruit by a banana farm owner in Thuan An town, Binh Duong province caused a stir in public opinion.

Bananas soaked in chemicals to ripen are harmful to the health of consumers.

CO 2,4D is a substance that stimulates cell growth in the leaves very quickly, so it can kill weeds. This substance makes cells grow quickly, and insufficient nutrition will lead to the death of the plant. CO 2,4D solution helps destroy microorganisms that adhere to fruit, so dipping in this solution not only helps the fruit look fresher and firmer, but can also be preserved for a long time. When used to soak bananas, this solution can penetrate the peel, through the stem to enter the fruit flesh.

To avoid buying bananas that have been ripened with this toxic chemical, consumers need to clearly understand the characteristics of this type of banana.

According to the experience of small traders, bananas that are ripe yellow but have green stems or a lot of sap are likely to be forced ripening.

The bananas on the left are ripe bananas.

In addition, the peel of forced ripe bananas is often eye-catching yellow and smooth, while naturally ripe bananas have dark yellow peels with small brown and black spots.

When you gently squeeze a banana, the forced ripened variety is usually still hard, while the naturally ripened variety will have soft flesh.

When peeled and eaten, the flesh of chemically ripened bananas is still as hard as raw rice and bland, even a bit astringent. Naturally ripened bananas never taste astringent but have a sweet and aromatic taste.

Chemically ripened bananas have beautiful yellow stems but the stems are still green.

If you want to buy bananas when they are still green, you should choose a bunch of bananas that are dark green, shiny and evenly curved. If you see that the skin of the banana has spots that have turned slightly yellow, the bunch of bananas is ripe and will taste better.

Look at the skin of the banana. If the color is light green, the banana is younger. If you buy these bananas, they will take longer to ripen and will not taste good. Old bananas can be left in a cool place and will ripen easily.

If you want to buy ripe bananas to eat right away, you should first avoid buying bruised bananas and choose medium-sized ones. If the fruit is too big, it may have been fertilized with a lot of chemicals or growth hormones. On the contrary, if the fruit is too small, it is sometimes an unripe fruit that has been forced to ripen.

Naturally ripened bananas have dark yellow skin with small brown or black spots.

You should prioritize buying ripe bananas but there are green and yellow ones. These are usually naturally ripened.

According to Family & Society