In a bid to increase the value of the Australian banana industry, two of the country’s government bodies will this year investigate value-adding options for the Queensland-based industry’s reject bananas.
The project, announced today, will be a cooperative effort between Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries (QPIF) and government research body CSIRO.
Banana growers in Queensland currently use most second-grade bananas as fertiliser, chopping them up and reapplying them to plantations, according to Acting Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Peter Lawlor.
“Each year more than 100,000 tonnes of bananas that don’t make it past the packing shed are chopped up and spread back over plantations as fertiliser,” Mr Lawlor said.
“They're perfectly good to eat but they would be passed over by shoppers for fruit with a more ideal appearance.
“Some rejected fruit is used in small scale processing and some in fermentation trials to produce methane as an alternative fuel source, but we believe there are other options in the food processing area.”
Queensland’s banana industry was worth around A$410m over the 2008/09 season.
The project will look at options like chilled shelf stable sliced banana and extruded banana snacks, and will consult at several stages with the industry.
“After identifying what we think are the best commercial options, we will conduct feasibility assessments prior to making recommendations to the food industry on how to use waste bananas for commercial success and wider community benefits,” explained QPIF researcher Dr Kent Fanning.
The project is expected to wrap up towards the end of 2010.
