Fruit Stock Photo: Rotten Banana Peel on White Background

Banana Peel (Skin)

A banana peel, known as a banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the banana fruit.

Bananas are a popular fruit consumed worldwide with a yearly production of over 145 million tonnes in 2011. Once the peel is removed, the fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and the peel is generally discarded. Because of this removal of the banana peel, there is a significant amount of organic waste being generated.

Banana peels are used as feedstock as they have some nutritional value. Banana peels are widely used for that purpose on small farms in regions where bananas are grown. There are some concerns over the impact of tannins contained in the peels on animals that consume them. Banana peels are used as feedstock for cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, rabbits, fish and several other species.

The specific nutrition contained in peel depends on the stage of maturity and the cultivar; for example plantain peels contain less fibre than dessert banana peels, and lignin content increases with ripening (from 7 to 15% dry matter). On average, banana peels contain 6-9% dry matter of protein and 20-30% fibre (measured as NDF). Green plantain peels contain 40% starch that is transformed into sugars after ripening. Green banana peels contain much less starch (about 15%) when green while ripe banana peels contain up to 30% free sugars.

Banana peels are also used for water purification, to produce ethanol, cellulase, laccase and in composting.

(Source: Wikipedia.org)

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