Jakarta –
Bananas are often wasted just like that because the color is brown quickly, the texture becomes soft, and ends foul. Now researchers are present carrying a solution in the form of bananas whose quality is more durable.
Bananas are consumed in the world because it tastes delicious, eating it practically, and its nutritional content is great. Those who like sports often rely on eating bananas to supply energy quickly.
However, in the practice of consumption, bananas are often wasted in vain because the quality quickly decreases. The color of the flesh is brown quickly after peeled from the skin, then the texture will be runny or soft.
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To overcome this problem, the Biotechnology company in the UK called Tropic Biosciences came with innovative solutions. In March 2025, they introduced bananas with genes that had been edited to make it fresh longer.
Bananas will be bright yellow longer so that the freshness will add a few days. This is expected to prevent bananas from being wasted, as written by Food & Wine (29/3/2025).
 Now comes a type of banana whose skin is not brown quickly and is fresher longer. Photo: Getty Images/Istockphoto/Anamejia18 |
“Bananas that are not brown-made tropic have the potential to potentially reduce food waste and CO2 emissions significantly along the supply chain up to more than 25%, because more than 60% of the bananas are exported are wasted before reaching consumers,” said the company.
Tropic Biosciences continued, “This innovative product can support the reduction in CO2 emissions which are equivalent to eliminating 2 million passenger vehicles from the highway every year.”
According to Gilad Gerson, one of the founders of Tropic, the research team used the Crispr gene editing technique. The aim is to deactivate genes that create polyphenol oxidase enzymes, which cause bananas to turn brown.
“After a few years of development, we began to produce seeds (which did not change color to brown) about a year ago, and now we began to offer this banana plant in significant amounts to farmers,” Gershon said to AGFUNDERNEWS.
He said this banana had the same taste, aroma, and sweetness level as bananas in general. “Everything is the same, unless the flesh of the fruit does not quickly change color to be brown. So you can make it a salad or cut fruit ready to eat,” Gershon said.
Most importantly, this innovation can make the freshness of bananas increase by 10 days. Gershon added, “The company can at least buy extra 10 days, a very large amount for the banana industry.”
 The freshness of bananas that last longer prevents bananas from being wasted. Photo: Getty Images/Istockphoto/Bhofack2 |
Tropic Biosciences more specifically told The Guardian that bananas would remain yellow for 12 hours after peeling. Gershon also told to AGFUNDERNEWS That the banana has been approved for sale in several countries, including the US and Canada. The hope is ready to be marketed in 2025.
Previously, the 2021 study at Horticulture Research revealed that nearly 1/3 of the bananas that were harvested had never been consumed. This is in line with data that shows about 1/3 of food produced in the world is also wasted.
“That is, the amount of land larger than China is used every year to produce food that will not be eaten by anyone. But this new banana can be a big step towards the improvement of the metric,” wrote the World Resources Institute.
Banana innovation from Tropic Biosciences is actually not the first. In 2017 there are also similar innovations applied to Arctic apples where genes that create the enzyme polyphenol oxidase are eliminated.
This apple has been sold in America since 2017 and has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (FDA). “Food Genetically modified organism (GMO) was examined carefully before being sold to the public to ensure that the food is as safe as the food we consume today, “wrote the FDA.
(ADR/ODI)
