Storage & use tips

How to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresh

Eating more fruits and vegetables is a requirement for every healthy eater. However it is important that you don't end up throwing away more than you eat.

Storing fresh produce is a little more complicated than you might think. If you want to
prevent spoilage, certain foods shouldn’t be stored together at all, while others that we commonly keep in the fridge should actually be left on the kitchen top. To keep your produce fresh (and cut down on food waste), use this handy guide.

Kitchen Storage Tips

There’s nothing as inviting as a big bowl of crisp apples on the kitchen top. To keep those apples crisp and all countertop-stored produce fresh, store them out of direct sunlight in an uncovered bowl, or inside a perforated plastic bag.

Refrigerator Storage Tips

For produce that is best stored in the refrigerator, remember the following guidelines.

Keep produce in perforated plastic bags in the produce drawer of the refrigerator.
(To perforate bags, punch holes in the bag with a sharp object, spacing them about as far apart as the holes you see in supermarket apple bags.)

Keep fruits and vegetables separate, in different drawers, because ethylene can build up in the fridge, causing spoilage.

When storing herbs (and interestingly, asparagus, too), snip off the ends, store upright in a glass of water (like flowers in a vase) and cover with a plastic bag.

What to Store Where: A Handy Chart

Use this colour-coded key along with the chart below: