Bananas won't go brown and will stay fresh for 16 days if you store in 1 place

Avoiding a common mistake could help keep bananas fresh for much longer, experts suggest. Bananas are a great source of natural sugars, whilst also containing with several vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.

But they're also known for going quickly go from ripe to rotten when they're not stored properly, and some key factors can determine how quickly they go off. Tash Blythe, a food hygiene expert at High Speed Training, says bananas shouldn't be kept with fruit, and should instead be "somewhere at room temperature and away from any moisture, sunlight and overly warm temperatures whilst ripening.

"Anywhere too warm will speed up the ripening process, so avoid keeping them near ovens or warm appliances," she added.

She also recommended seprating them, rather than letting them sit in bunch, which will "help them remain at their prime ripeness for longer".

The carbohydrate-and-potassium-packed fruit continue to ripen after they've been picked. Like other fruit, they emit ethylene, a gaseous hormone that speeds up the ripening process, meaning storing them alongside other fruits can make them ripen and turn bad quicker.

Tash says in the banana's case, the gas is released from the step, "so to slow the impact of the gas and avoid them over-ripening too quickly, you can also wrap the stems in a plastic wrap or cling film".

Doing so "reduces the amount of gas that will be able to travel down the fruit and therefore allows them to stay fresher for longer", she added.

But if you do choose to keep them together, storing them on a "banana tree hanger" can "help slow down ripening and encourage air circulation", Tash explained.

It also "helps to avoid any resting bruises to the skin of the fruit, which often makes the impacted inside area more of an undesirable mushy texture", she said.

The expert says says putting bananas in the fridge once they have reached your preferred ripeness can also help them last longer.

She previously said bananas "could last up to 16 days" if these steps are followed, and told people not to be "put off by the brown or over-ripe banana skin, as the fruit inside should remain fresh".

However, it's always best to follow sell-by date, and not eat anything you suspect may have gone bad.