Brought to you by the Produce Marketing Association and the Produce for Better Health Foundation.
Ethylene is a naturally occurring ripening gas.
As some fruits and vegetables mature, they produce ethylene, which continues the ripening process. Without ethylene, some items, such as bananas, would never ripen. The produce industry uses ethylene to start the ripening process. Bananas, for example, are picked before they are mature enough to produce ethylene, which would allow them to ripen on their own. After their journey from Central or South America to North America, they are placed in special rooms, which are then filled with ethylene to trigger the ripening process.