Banana-infused vodka? How imperfect fruit is leaving the waste stream to make boutique treats

Tonnes of West Australian bananas, deemed unfit for supermarket shelves, are being given a new life and ending up in customers' stomachs instead of waste. 

The fruit can be rejected for being too blemished, the wrong size or shape, despite being perfectly good to eat.

But a new freeze-drying facility in Carnarvon, 900 kilometres north of Perth, is providing an option for previously unsellable bananas produced by the region's growers.

It has also increased capacity for freezing the fruit so it can be sold on and used in products such as gelato and banana bread.

The facility's seemingly remote location is perfect for the region's growers, who can produce more than 5,000 tonnes of bananas a year.

Business manager Doriana Mangili said when the Sweeter Banana Cooperative started it had about 60 per cent wastage.

Doriana Mangili says there are opportunities to build relationships further with local food producers.(ABC Pilbara: Xander Sapsworth-Collis)

The fruit would be returned to paddocks as mulch but Ms Mangili said they wanted to find a way to reach zero waste.

"We want every single banana, that can be eaten, to be eaten or turned into some sort of food or food product," she said.

"Environmentally it makes senses, and there's a lot of labour and other costs that go into harvesting and removing it, to throw it away."

Carnarvon grower Chris Collins says each bunch of bananas takes about 15 months to grow.(ABC Pilbara: Xander Sapsworth Collis)

Carnarvon grower Chris Collins said waste has been an ongoing issue.

"Currently it's up to 400 cartons a week that we are going to process, which used to be thrown out, so that six tonnes of bananas," he said.

"It's really exciting for us as growers simply because we throw away a lot of fruit and that's only due to skin markings."

A national issue

In 2017, the federal government committed to halving food waste in Australia by 2030.

A National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study found food waste costs the Australian economy about $36.6 billion each year.

End Food Waste Australia horticulture lead Melissa Smith said 22 per cent of all food waste happened at the on-farm stage.

End Food Waste Australia's Melissa Smith says there is huge potential for value-adding initiatives.(Supplied)

She said the annual Australian Bureau of Statistics horticulture survey showed the major cause was environmental issues such as weather, pests and diseases.

"The second major cause is product specifications, so that's aesthetic reasons," Ms Smith said.

"Labour shortages is number three."

Ms Smith said there had been increased interest in value-adding to help reduce wastage and counter rising input costs.

"There are heaps and heaps of examples of growers doing incredible things or working with other suppliers or other people in the food supply chain to make the most of their below-premium grade produce," she said.

Putting bananas into vodka

The Damaged Goods Distillery in Perth has been using waste produce, including citrus husks from juicing companies and apple pulp from cideries, to produce spirits.

It has also been trialling Gascoyne bananas in its vodka, with more than 300 kilograms supplied to the distiller late last year.

Distillery co-founder Tim Laferla says their spirits are made from produce that will otherwise go to waste.(Supplied: Tim Laferla)

"We're not making a banana-flavoured vodka as such, we're using the fermentable sugars within the banana to create the base spirit," co-founder Tim Laferla said.

"The vodka won't be completely neutral. There will still be a little bit of character from those bananas, which is what we want anyway."

Seconds mangoes for beer

It is not just bananas being given a second life.

Carnarvon cafe owner Valeria Lucchitto's processes by hand about three-and-half-tonnes of lower-grade mangoes from local growers each year.

The fruit has been sold onto Whalebone Brewery in Exmouth, as well as customers in Perth, to be used in chutneys and jams.

Valeria Lucchitto processes imperfect Carnarvon mangoes for chutney, jam and beer.(ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)

Head brewer Justin Fuery said they began working on a seltzer using mangoes about five years ago.

"We were probably using 440 kilograms every season initially and then it has grown to about a tonne," he said.

Mr Fuery said it was now also used for sour beers.