| 15 - 21 Sept, 2012 |
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Bananas will now stay fresh for 12 days!
 A spray that stops bananas from rapidly turning to mush is being developed by scientists. When used to coat green bananas, it slowed their ripening and so kept them fresh for almost a fortnight. By contrast, supermarket bought bananas often go brown and soggy within two or three days.
It is believed that the spray could help save some of the 1.6million bananas thrown away in Britain alone every day.
Dr. Xihong Li, who made the spray from a form of the fibre that makes  crab shells hard, said: "We found that by spraying green bananas with a chitosan aerogel, we can keep bananas fresh for up to 12 days.
"Once bananas begin to mature, they quickly become yellow and soft, and then they rot. We have developed ways to keep bananas green for a longer time and inhibit the rapid ripening that occurs. Such a coating could be used at home by consumers, in supermarkets or during shipment of bananas."
The spray, which is being developed at Tianjin University of Science and Technology in China, is clear and tasteless and said to be completely safe. It works by killing bacteria and slowing down the rate at which the fruit breathes.
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