Emily- Today at EARTH University we had the opportunity to visit a banana processing facility that is part of their environmentally-friendly banana plantation. We saw the bananas come into the facility via a cable transport system. The bananas are wrapped in blue plastic to help protect them from UV radiation that can damage the peel. Next, the fruits are rinsed with a dilute chlorine-water solution to kill any fungi or bacteria that may be on them. They are hand-sorted, and sent off to be stickered (also by hand at incredible speed), and the stems are coated with a wax to seal them and prevent molds or bacteria from affecting the fruit. Finally, they are boxed and inspected for ripeness and disease. Any bananas not suitable for export are separated for use in many ways. Some are distributed locally in areas where people are in need of food, others are eaten on campus by students and faculty, and any extra is mulched for animal feed or compost. No waste! Our final stop was a visit to special refrigeration units where bananas are all carefully brought to the same temperature to ensure the entire shipment will ripen at the same rate. What an interesting experience! EARTH University bananas are sold in many Costa Rican stores, as well as Whole Foods in the United States!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The UpdatesEach week there will be a new post to the blog, that will highlight our students and there projects. It will also give weekly announcements. Archives
May 2019
Categories |