Thomas Hoey Jr. Celebrates New Discovery for Use of Ripe Bananas
Brooklyn, NY (PRWEB) July 10, 2013 -- 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. While Hoey’s ripe banana product has provided satisfaction to many produce lovers, a recent discovery in Chile has offered new insight on what this fruit is capable of. A recent article from Fresh Fruit Portal reveals, “A group of Chilean researchers has developed flour made from ripe bananas. By processing the fruit’s pulp and peel, the process could create 30,000 tons of the product a year in Chile…The flour will have similar nutritional characteristics to the fruit, including high levels of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, according to Carmen Soto, Ph.D. from the Regional Center for Food and Health Research.”
Thomas Hoey Jr. responds, “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.”
As an additional benefit, the new product could introduce an improved flour resource for public consumption. According to Fresh Fruit Portal, “The product would be new to the market since currently marketed flour options in Chile are limited to wheat, rice, tapioca and quinoa.” Although the article recognizes the presence of banana flour in other South American countries, Thomas Hoey Jr. highlights the unique difference that ripened fruits could provide.
Specifically, the article explains, “In countries like Colombia and Ecuador, available banana flours come from green bananas rather than the ripe fruit used for the Chilean project funded by the Chilean Economic Development Agency.” In addition, Dr. Soto explains, “In contrast to other flours, we use the fruit’s peel to produce this product, which, according to our evaluation, is a significant source of dietary fiber and a contribution to better health.” That nutritional value, according to the article, could even lead to a viable option for mass production.
“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.
ABOUT:
Thomas Hoey Jr. is a proven business professional whose history extends from a long line of successful fruit merchants. Hoey is currently the owner of Long Island Banana Corp., which specializes in importing bananas—as well as a full of line of other produce items—from Central and South America to the New York and New Jersey region. This company is known for ripening its produce directly at the Long Island Banana Corp. facility, thus guaranteeing that each piece of fruit is delicious and perfect, ready for the consumer to enjoy.
Deondra Macy, PR Management Inc., 484-362-9658, [email protected]
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