The banana is a truly amazing healthy food: loaded with potassium, low in calories and easy to take on the go.  And now, based on research presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a new spray may keep them from ripening too fast. 

Bananas, like other fruits and vegetables continue to ripen after they are picked.  The bananas are still ‘alive’ and ‘breath’ through their skin.  The more they breath, the faster they ripen. 

The spray is a ‘hydrogel’ coating made from chitosan, a substance found in crab and shrimp shells.  The hydrogel works by literally choking the bananas to keep them from breathing and thus ripening as quickly.  The spray also kills the bacterium that causes rotting.