As the owner of Long Island Banana Corp., Thomas Hoey Jr. has led a successful career developing a company that ripens bananas for consumers, ready-to-eat.
Now, a discovery from Chile has offered new potential from the fruit. A group of researchers from the country have developed a new way to make flour from bananas. It is said that that the flour will contain the same nutritional qualities as the fruit itself.
Thomas Hoey Jr. says, “This is an exceptional discovery, as it helps find a way to transform a vital food product into a long-lasting resource that could provide essential vitamins in a daily diet. If the findings are able to be applied on a wide scale, this could help cut costs, introduce a new healthy product to consumers and even help reduce waste.” According to the article, that waste reduction could prove significant as “up to 20 percent of bananas in Chile go to waste a year” and “losses due to over ripening equate to around 30,000MT a year.”
“This discovery highlights not only the heavy nutritional value that the banana provides, but the versatility of the fruit. If Chile can aptly utilize this resource, I believe it could have a positive impact on other countries that are facing issues regarding banana waste and the need for improved nutrition,” Thomas Hoey Jr. concludes.
