Will refrigeration ruin bananas?

Bananas should be stored at room temperature until they ripen. If unripened bananas are refrigerated, they'll remain just that way--unripened. Restoring the bananas to room temperature won't promote further ripening. 
 
Once ripened, can they be refrigerated?  Yes and no, depending upon whom you ask.  
 
Here's the "yes" position: ripe bananas can be refrigerated to extend shelf life. Refrigerated bananas will keep up to a week.    Although the peel will blacken, the bananas  remain suitable for consumption. Before eating, refrigerated bananas should be brought back to room temperature for full flavor.
 
Now for the naysayers:  Some consumers who have tried refrigerating bananas claim that they stay good for only a few days and then develop brown spots on the inside.  Some say that bananas that have been refrigerated don't taste as good.  Food scientist Susan Brewer says that bananas are a tropical fruit that does not do well at cold temperatures.  
 
Final answer:  try it youself and let us know what you discover.
 
Source(s):
GourmetSleuth.com "Food Storage Guidelines"
Banana.com "How to Purchase"
Susan Brewer, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition