Fresh Del Monte, the third largest banana manufacturer in the world, recently debuted a “brand new” healthy snack, and are calling it “perfect for the convenience market.”
Again, WHAT?
In my opinion, bananas are already the most convenient fruit around. They’re fairly sturdy, I can grab one as I run out the door, and because the peel is biodegradable, I don’t feel guilty about tossing it out the window (therefore keeping my car clean and NOT smelling like banana).
I can appreciate Ziplock baggies for most fruit: grapes, apple slices, pomegranate seeds, peaches and strawberries all require something to contain juice or multiple small pieces. But bananas already have their own nature-made baggie. It’s called the peel!
The only purpose of packaging on a fruit can serve is for the benefit of the company: making these bananas a novelty (and therefore a reason to jack up the price), and a place to put logos.
Del Monte claims that the additional packaging uses “controlled ripening technology,” which will extend the life of a banana by more than six days. The extended shelf-life will supposedly reduce the number of bananas that spoil during shipping.
James Harvey, Del Monte’s United Kingdom Managing Director, in an interview with ABC News said, “Del Monte’s new CRT packaging is designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill.”
By reducing the number of bananas (which are biodegradable) in landfills, the company plans to increase the amount of plastic packaging (featuring a “recyclable” label).
“Councils and residents have made great steps in bringing that cost down by increasing recycling, but we need the food industry to do much more to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging,” said Gary Porter, a member of the Environment Board of the Local Government Association.
The only “packaging” that should ever be on a banana is its peeling. It’s neat, simple, portable and biodegradable; adding anything else is ridiculous.
