Banana Safety Inspection
Detect Ethrel/Ethedon gas artificial ripening in bananas
Inspection Guide
Spotting Chemical Bananas
Ethrel or Ethedon is commonly used for bananas, affecting both appearance and nutritional value.
**1. The Stem Color Rule:**
Natural bananas have brown/black stems when they are yellow. If the banana is bright yellow but the stem is dark green, it is almost certainly artificially ripened.
**2. Absence of Sugar Spots:**
Natural bananas develop small brown dots (sugar spots) as they ripen. Chemically ripened ones look "perfectly yellow" and flawless, which is actually a red flag.
**3. The Peel vs Fruit Disconnect:**
In naturally ripened bananas, the peel yellowing and fruit sweetening happen simultaneously. With chemical ripening, the peel turns yellow quickly but the fruit inside remains starchy and pale.
**4. The Cooling Test:**
Keep the banana in the refrigerator. Natural bananas will have the peel turn brown but the fruit remains good. Chemically ripened bananas will have both peel and fruit deteriorate rapidly.
Quick Safety Tips
- Check stem color - green stem with yellow fruit = chemical
- Look for natural sugar spots (brown dots)
- Peel and check fruit color - should be creamy yellow
- Natural bananas have gradual ripening progression