Anyone throwing out a lot of fruit/veg?

[Boujibroke]

I used to shop at Tesco. Switched to Aldi as we were fed up of food not lasting and needing binned. Just the same problem with Aldi

Anyone else noticed this?

Not sure what to do about it really. Annoyed at the waste (although my compost heap is well fed) and pissed off at the waste of money.

The other thing I have started doing is buying much more frozen veg & fruit

Peas, Sweetcorn, Broad Beans, chopped Shallots, Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, frozen Raspberries, Blackcurrants and Cherries all live in my freezer. Fabulous quality (frozen within hours of picking) and no waste !!

Just get guinea pigs. We have 4 and they are useful for this purpose

@paradoxicalfrog it's shocking isn't it.

@AutumnAuntie we don't like smoothies.

@itsmyp4rty your right. It is nothing but a complete piss take.

@1990 thank you.

I agree with what @Skyellaskerry said about chopping and freezing.

@PinkRoses1245 thank you. Dh has checked the fridge temp and it's fine. The fridge is only 1/2 years old. We do buy just what we need. Unfortunately it just doesn't last long. It turns off really quickly. Like really off so it would make you unwell.

Agree with the mouldy bread @Butterkist8 it's disgusting.

@Tremblingmadness we have tried frozen fruit/veg before but we didn't like the taste or texture. We find them bland and watery. It would be fab if we did like them. Much cheaper and easy to keep.

@forgotmyusername1 Aww would love guinea pigs. You are so lucky to have 4. Sadly my little dog wouldn't be very happy. He's so spoiled.

We shop at Sainsburys and food delivered. I tend to refuse and get a refund for one or two items each delivery. Especially lettuce at the moment seems very manky.
As for how long stuff lasts at home it seems to very a lot. Berries we eat on the day or day after. And I wash and dry them if they go in the fridge for the night.
Bananas seem to go off really quickly!

I only buy fresh apples, bananas, and the odd orange. The rest I always buy frozen apart from fruit I have a definite plan to cook or if I know for sure they'll be eaten, in season (plums, mandarins).

We get one sainsbury shop delivered and I go to Lidl or Lidl another day to get fresh stuff so I can have a proper look, don't have any particular issues as described here so I wonder if you are unfortunate with a local warehouse issue??

The date codes are a red herring. Not to start a political debate, but goods are getting held up at ports and not being refrigerated as they should (I suspect). I'm getting fed up of bad fruits and veg. And 2 for 1s to cover the fact where you mostly have to bin 2/3rds of the lot.

But most fruit and veg only has a very short shelf life, if you go strawberry picking your lucky if the strawberries last a couple of days, salad deteriorates the moment you pick it, most people have a very unrealistic expectation about the expiry dates, buy it all frozen if your wasting loads.

IWantToLive the point is that fruit and veg (and milk) used to last longer and now doesn’t. So clearly something has changed which is causing this - presumably harvesting/transport/storage practices - rather than it being due to the inherent shelf life of the items.

We get a veg box and top up from supermarkets. The supermarket items are going off much faster, but the veg box is fine. Their shorter (nearly all UK grown) supply chain is probably helping.

I've had my cucumber in the fridge unused for over a week and it's still ok. M&S.

I have a friend that says wrapping vegetables in tin foil and then putting in the fridge helps majorly. She gave the example of broccoli.

How new are your fridges? We’ve just got a new one, and stuff is now lasting much longer. I used a carton of double cream at the weekend with an expiry date of 1t September and it was still fine, and veg/salad is also lasting really well, past dates and also get stuff from Olio which I assume is on/past it’s BBdate.

@usernamealreadytaken my fridge is only a year or two old.

Your fridge sounds like a dream.

My greek yoghurt doesn't even last until the date on the lid.

Something has definitely went wrong somewhere between picking and into people's fridges.

I will say here that we grow our own raspberries and they really aren’t keeping either. We’re lucky if they last a day. My suspicion is that the wet summer has left them a bit mushy.

ETA: for those who are worried about their fridges, get a fridge thermometer. If they’re somewhat overfilled like ours (allotment produce; just what do you do with 10 aubergines? 😂) they may well not be as cold as they should be.

It really is flipping amazing! I’m really funny about milk and cream and can’t stand it if it’s even starting to turn, but I was amazed that there was absolutely no smell to the cream and it tasted fine, and cooked well too.

The wet summer probably is a factor. I've put a green house on my Christmas list.

Funny that about dairy stuff. The number of times we’ve had milk look and smell OK but turn into cottage cheese the moment it hits the tea. 🤬 We don’t buy 6-pinters for this reason.

@usernamealreadytaken I am so jealous 😭 you are living my best life 🤣

M&S Fruit and veg is the freshest I've found . Everywhere else seems past it's best while still on sale!

I buy all my fruit/veg/potatoes from M&S (Ocado delivery) Carrots last 3 weeks in fridge- always rip a hole in the bag but leave in the bag. Cucumbers/Lettuce/Peppers easy 2/3 weeks. Potatoes- last 2 weeks.
Raspberries - no longer buy fresh as they go mouldy the next day- but M&S frozen raspberries are amazing - a frozen punnet has lasted me at least 8 breakfasts (with 10% Greek yoghurt) - was £2.00 ish - no waste. Fresh strawberries have lasted 4/5 days in good nick as well.

That sounds amazing @Mangofandangoo and @mrsfollowill

Might give Mark's and Sparks a try

Check your fridge temperature - it needs to be 5 degrees or below.
Mushrooms come straight out of the wrapper when I get home. I just cover them with a piece of kitchen roll.
I do my shopping in the supermarket. I know it's not feasible for everyone, but that way I can choose my own rather than being given the closest to hand. I might occasionally get a pepper in a multipack that's started turning mushy, but I just cut round the bad bit and use the rest.

I take all my fruit/veg out of whatever packet it comes in (prefer none but it's hard to do if you're shopping in a regular supermarket).

I decant it into airtight bags and keep in the fridge - it definitely lasts a whole lot longer when I do this, usually weeks after buying. I currently have sugar snap peas, a butternut squash half and some spinach that's been in there for 3 weeks and still perfect, and the apples/pears have been there for longer.

I find this doesn't work for prepared fruit/veg - cut up mango lasts about 5 mins but a whole one is perfectly good after 3 weeks for instance.