Researchers claim bananas have at least three ‘mystery ancestors’. If found these may help protect against disease and help breed better, more diverse varieties at a time they are urgently needed.
Bananas are not doomed, say experts. But their survival depends largely on retailers and consumers being prepared to pay more for their bananas, and the sector exploring different varieties.
A coalition of South American banana growers have warned that the price they receive from European retailers is unsustainable after it emerged Aldi will cut the amount it pays for the fruit next year.
Pests and diseases are threatening Cavendish bananas with extinction. Dutch university Wageningen and plant research company KeyGene are jointly joining international researchers battling to save the popular fruit.
A new variety of banana that is resistant to black Sigatoka and can be produced using organic and agro-ecological production methods is set to become commercially available in France.
A global threat is facing the production of Cavendish bananas following the outbreak of Fusarium disease (also known as Panama disease) and scientists are working on finding a gene that is resistant to the strain.
Chaga mushroom, green banana flour, casacara, hemp and blue spirulina: These are the ingredients to watch in 2018, according to market researchers at Mintel.
Better methods to protect banana crops, both for exporters and those who rely on bananas as a staple food, are needed as researchers point to the vulnerability of the popular fruit to disease.
PepsiCo has been experimenting with ingredients from unpeeled heat-treated green bananas and plantains to serve as everything from a gluten substitute to a sugar replacer in products from oatmeal to smoothies, crackers, bars and cookies, a recent patent...
UK supermarket chain Asda hopes that its new 'traffic light' colour coded packaging system will ensure customers always pick avocadoes off retail shelves at the correct level of ripeness.
Bananas are not being as exploited as much as they could be in prepared food, according to researchers, and research could stimulate greater interest from industry in a fruit that has long-standing popularity with consumers.
Costa Rican food companies are focusing on major trends like organics and social values to build their export platform, as an association agreement between the EU and Central America is expected to be reached in 2009.
Leading banana supplier Chiquita has reported a $3m loss for its
first quarter, hit by increased industry costs, unfavorable pricing
and an exit from unprofitable business in Chile.
Fairtrade mangoes from Burkina Faso, Mexico and Equador have been
given a major distribution boost in the UK this week, with the
announcement that the two leading supermarket groups, Tesco and
Sainsbury's, are to add them to...
Responding to recent media reports that bananas may be extinct
within ten years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
has urged producers to promote greater genetic diversity in
commercial bananas.
After Fairtrade bananas, mangoes and chocolate, the UK's Co-op
retail chain has now introduced the world's first Fairtrade
pineapples, offering a fair deal and better working conditions for
growers in Costa Rica.
Chiquita Brands International Inc., the number one banana producer,
reported on July 24 a second-quarter loss due to weak European
currencies, higher production costs and lower canned vegetable
prices.
US fruit and vegetable group, Dole Food, announced a fourth-quarter
loss that significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations, the
Financial Times reports....
