3 Simple Tips to Stop Wasting Your Fresh Foods!
Diet high in fresh produce is great for a healthy lifestyle. However, without proper storage, the lifespan of these fresh produce is greatly shortened to just a few days.
In 2019, the Singapore Environment Council and Deloitte found that one-fifth of imported and locally-grown fresh produce is thrown awaybefore they reach consumers. One of the key factors for this large amount is that there is insufficient infrastructure for storage and transportation of these fresh produce.
The 3 factors which contribute to reduction of the shelf-life of fresh produce are ethylene gas, humidity and temperature. Ethylene gas is a natural plant hormone which is produced to help fruits and vegetables ripen. However, too much ethylene gas will cause foods to over-ripe and eventually go bad. Likewise for humidity, too much ‘wetness’ would encourage‘disease development or physiological disorders’ in the fresh products. Lastly, temperature higher than room temperature encourages the growth of more bacteria, which in turn degrades the quality of fresh produce.
All is not lost! In fact, here are three simple habits you can cultivate when storing your fruits and vegetables.
1.Sealing fruits and vegetables in reusable ziplock bags or containers
Since moisture and humidity can cause fresh produce such as leafy greens to decay faster, sealing them prevents any excess moisture. Furthermore, cutting off any excess oxygen to your food also prevents harmful bacteria or even mould from growing. Lastly, bagging your fresh produce also makes for better organisation in your fridge. Do remember that your ziplock bags can be reused as long as they do not have holes in them!
2.Leaving spices and root vegetables in dark, cool and dry places
Spices such as onion would start to sprout if the temperature becomes too warm, and garlic might mould if exposed to too much moisture. To prevent this from happening, you could leave them away from the sunlight. To encourage ventilation, you could bag your onions and garlic in a mesh bag.
If you’re looking for a mesh bag, you can check out what we have at Savour! in the listing below. By spending just $8.95, this lightweight yet reusable mesh bag can be used for storing not just your spices, but also assorted fruits and vegetables. They can also be used when you go for grocery shopping.
3.Practice “first in, first out” (FIFO)
FIFO is a common F&B practice which allows merchants to prevent unnecessary food wastage by always arranging food items which expire first at the most visible or reachable spot. For example, if you have 2 cartons of milk expiring in September and October respectively, you should place the milk expiring in September towards the outer area of the fridge. This way, you could easily see and also reach for the milk carton which expires first. Likewise, we can practice these habits with our fresh produce by placing vegetables which we have bought earlier on top and the newer ones below or behind. This allows us to finish our food and not accidentally miss them or throw them away because we missed the expiry date or because they have gone bad.
If you think you have any food that is almost expiring, and you do not want to see them being wasted, do check out our Savour! Community Telegram group. In this group, you can list your surplus or almost expiring goods so that others who need them more may have them instead. Join this link below to start doing your part for the environment!
Want to do your part to reduce carbon footprint and food wastage? Head down to Savour!to procure your next food item.
Visit our website at https://www.savourapp.co/
References:
- https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/kitchen/8-foods-that-go-bad-way-quicker-than-you-would-expect
- https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/keep-your-produce-fresh/
- https://www.self.com/story/heres-how-to-store-pretty-much-any-kind-of-produce
- https://onethird.io/9-methods-to-extend-shelf-life-fresh-produce/
- https://www.eatthis.com/foods-that-spoil-fastest/
- https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/one-fifth-of-fresh-food-lost-and-wasted-before-they-reach-consumers-study#:~:text=SINGAPORE%20%2D%20Close%20to%20one%2Dfifth,firm%20Deloitte%20Singapore%20has%20found.
- https://www.sensitech.com/en/blog/blog articles/blog_relativehumidity.html
- https://www.gettystewart.com/storing-freezing-and-dehydrating-onions/References:
- https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/kitchen/8-foods-that-go-bad-way-quicker-than-you-would-expect
- https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/keep-your-produce-fresh/
- https://www.self.com/story/heres-how-to-store-pretty-much-any-kind-of-produce
- https://onethird.io/9-methods-to-extend-shelf-life-fresh-produce/
- https://www.eatthis.com/foods-that-spoil-fastest/
- https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/one-fifth-of-fresh-food-lost-and-wasted-before-they-reach-consumers-study#:~:text=SINGAPORE%20%2D%20Close%20to%20one%2Dfifth,firm%20Deloitte%20Singapore%20has%20found.
- https://www.sensitech.com/en/blog/blog articles/blog_relativehumidity.html
- https://www.gettystewart.com/storing-freezing-and-dehydrating-onions/
Written by Alicia Lim
Alicia Lim is a Communications and Marketing Intern at Savour!