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If your produce spoils right before your eyes, you may want to change the way you store it in your kitchen.
Every time I open my refrigerator, it’s like I find a fruit, vegetable, or other green leaf that has spoiled just a few days after purchase. Tired of having to toss my produce in the compost bin, I decided to try something I’d seen recommended countless times: producing bags that claim to keep food fresher for longer.
I tested three different produce bag materials: free biodegradable plant starch bags available at my grocery store; Mesh bags from Thrive Market And delicious food Linen production bags.
In my experiment, I used red peppers and romaine lettuce, and stored them in these bags inside the produce drawer in the refrigerator. I did this for two weeks, which is USDA FoodKeeper app What is the recommended consumption limit for both peppers and lettuce when refrigerated after purchase?
Here’s how long the produce bags kept my food fresh, and which materials performed best in my testing.
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Day 1: A new beginning
I purchased romaine lettuce and red peppers from my local Trader Joe’s. While I was there, I purchased the biodegradable, 100% plant starch based produce bags available for free in the produce section.
What the product looked like on the day of purchase, and all the different product bags used.
I washed all the products, let them air dry, and then stored each one in its own bag. Ambrosia linen bags for both leafy greens and greens state that the produce should be damp and that the bags should be kept moist, so I followed those instructions. Then I put them all in the same produce drawer in my refrigerator.
Produce bags inside the produce drawer in my refrigerator.
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Day four: wilting begins
By day four, of the three romaine bunches, all had begun to wilt, but the compost looked the worst, with most of its outer leaves losing their crispness. The mesh and linen look almost the same, but one of the outer leaves on the romaine mesh was droopier than the one on the linen.
Romaine lettuce on day four.
As for red sweet peppers, all of them showed an increase in wrinkles. Both the reticulata and flax peppers had stems, which were starting to show signs of damage. At this point, I can’t say which looked less modern.
What does red pepper look like on the fourth day?
Day 8: One production bag takes the lead
By day eight, the romaine lettuce in the biodegradable bag showed visible signs of spoilage, which appeared to be penetrating its outer leaves. The mesh and linen runners were also turning slightly brown on the outside, but this was more noticeable with the mesh.
What the Romans looked like on the eighth day.
Again, all of the red peppers showed wrinkled stretch marks, but I couldn’t tell if one wrinkled more than the other. The stems on the mesh and flax pepper continued to show damage, which was most noticeable on the flax pepper stem. However, this was also longer and more likely to display defects due to its larger surface area.
Red pepper on the eighth day.
Day 13: Produce Bag Winner
To give myself a day to consume produce, since I didn’t want to waste everything, I did my final check on day 13, one day before the FoodKeeper app consumption limit. However, the romaine stored in the biodegradable bag was moldy and inedible, so I disposed of it in my compost bin.
Between the netting and the linen threads, the netting looked frayed, with a few of the outer leaves wilted and completely bent. Although I was still able to eat both after removing the outer leaves, the flax looked fresh.
Lettuce at the end of the experiment.
As for the red pepper, I was finally able to notice the differences. While all of them showed more wrinkles, the biodegradable peppers had the deepest wrinkles. Between the linen and filter mesh, the mesh had more wrinkles than the linen, but only slightly.
What did the peppers look like on day 13?
In the end, I would say that the products stored in linen bags remained fresh, followed by mesh bags in second place and biodegradable bags in last place. What may influence the win for linen bags is the fact that Ambrosia specifically stated that leafy greens and vegetables should remain wet inside the wet bag.
What experts say about produce bags
I asked Chef Fahista Ussery, a registered dietitian and founder of a culinary nutrition consulting and education company The tasteWhy linen was the best in my testing. She said it was no surprise that linen won because it offers multiple benefits for storing produce.
“Linen helps control moisture, absorbing excess that can cause produce to spoil quickly,” Oseary said. “At the same time, it still allows air to circulate, providing the product with the oxygen it needs, as well as allowing ethylene gas to escape.”
Some produce, such as fruit, emits ethylene gas, which can cause the product to ripen faster if the gas is trapped inside a produce bag.
Red pepper in different production bags.
Linen is also antimicrobial, which means it prevents bacterial growth and mold formation. “Linen bags are truly the way to go for quality production and environmental sustainability,” Ussery said.
As for mesh bags, they allow more air to circulate while absorbing less excess moisture. If you currently have mesh produce bags, Oseary recommends placing a paper towel in the bag with the product to help absorb moisture. You may also want to avoid storing leafy greens and fresh herbs in these bags, as excess air circulation can cause dehydration, leading to increased wilting. This would explain why romaine stored in a mesh bag wilts more than romaine stored in linen.
The label on a linen produce bag for leafy greens.
While compostable bags are better than plastic in terms of sustainability, they are designed to break down when composted. Excess moisture can start this composting process while you are simply trying to store your produce.
“Biodegradable bags trap ethylene gas and provide no moisture absorption,” Oseary said. “It’s better to use them only for purchase rather than storage.”
Ana Bueno, Holistic Nutritionist and Founder Bueno seed nutritionalso emphasizes the importance of recognizing how each type of produce thrives when stored.
“A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach rarely works,” she said. “Understanding how to store each type of food is key to reducing food waste and preserving nutritional value.”
Lesson learned. Next time you bring home fresh produce, taking just a few extra minutes to create the perfect storage environment can transform your salad from just good to truly great.