Save the Produce!

It’s summer and with all the produce you’ll be scoring at your local farmer’s market (hopefully you’ll be buying organic) it’s no doubt that your fridge will be fuller than usual. But on an average, Americans throw out at least 25% of the produce that they buy, due to spoilage. Although this statistic may be great for your composter, it’s bad for your wallet and really wasteful!

Fortunately there are many products out there that can help you reduce the amount of ethylene, the odorless colorless gas that’s released by produce that makes ripening happen faster. My personal favorites are the Evert-Fresh Green Bags and the BioFresh Resealable Zipper Produce Bags— I’ve been using them both for about a year, and they’re also a really great alternative to using plastic baggies from the market. If you bring your own produce bags, you won’t have to repack them when you get home and you’ll end up with less plastic waste.

I recently read an article in Vegetarian Times that reviewed and tested these bags and other ethylene-reducing products. Their winners, (they tested using lettuce) which I’m interested to check out are the E.G.G (ethylene gas guardian), the FridgeSmart container and the ExtraLife Disc.