>Have a Chiquita Banana. While looking at a box of Chiquita Bananas I was pleased that the following chemicals had been “applied to maintain freshness”:
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>Thiabendazole or Imazalil or Azoystrobin. Gee that sounds so nice. Those words just roll off of the tongue.
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>I have noticed that most bananas including Chiquita will have a green outside and be soft like mush, indicating that it is too ripe.
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>Black Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease that attacks banana plants and can cut a tree's fruit production in half. 15 to 20% of the cost of a banana is for the control of Black Sigatoka. Never fear – the growers apply fungicides to kill the fungal disease. However, Black Sigatoka is becoming immune to fungicides. New more powerful fungicides must be developed to resolve this problem.
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>How do Organic Bananas feel about all this?
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>Remember do not eat, breath or drink anything. It might contain harmful chemicals. The truth is that we have little knowledge as to what chemicals we come in contact with in our daily lives. Then there is food from China! :)


It's actually quite an art getting bananas to your local grocery store in any sort of optimal way. Shipment has to be fast enough that they don't spoil en route but not prohibitively expensive. You want the bananas to be close to ripe when they get there. You want them to be close to ripening so the shopper doesn't have to wait a week or two after buying before the bananas are edible. Many produce warehouses have special banana rooms at their local warehouses (i.e. near their stores, not near the jungle where the bananas were picked). That is controlled by temperature and air pressure, though, not chemicals. At least it used to be.