The 7-Eleven convenience store chain sells more than 27 million bananas a year and, evidently, the company feels it could sell more if they didn't go bad so quickly.
To address the ripening situation, 7-Eleven announced earlier this week that it would be begin testing bananas wrapped in individual plastic packaging. Fresh Del Monte created the packaging, which keeps oxygen and moisture out, and promises to extend the period bananas stay good on the shelf to five days.
The company's CEO Joseph DePinto summed up the reason for the test in an interview with USA Today. "Our customers want yellow bananas - not brown," he said.
However, some are not impressed.
"More plastic packaging is not a sustainable solution," said Jenny Powers, a spokesperson for the National Resources Defense Council. "There are better ways than adding a plastic wrapper around something that comes naturally wrapped in the first place."
The convenience store chain anticipated some push back and has asked Fresh Del Monte to come up with packaging that uses biodegradable material. "We're working at identifying more sustainable packaging," Dennis Christou, marketing vice president at Fresh Del Monte, told USA Today.
If the test is successful, 7-Eleven will roll out the banana packaging to its stores across the country.
Discussion Questions: Should the chain go ahead with rollout of the packaging even if a more environmentally-friendly option cannot be found? What does this incident say about the need to take green issues into consideration in produce packaging?