Green Bags for Preserving Vegetables

Keeping fresh vegetables from spoiling is a common household challenge.

Preserving fresh vegetables and fruits is an ongoing challenge for many people. Even with proper usage of vegetable bins in refrigerators, spoilage is common and costly. "Green" bags claim to preserve these fresh foods longer.

Green Bag Technology

Many fruits and vegetables emit ethylene, a plant hormone that encourages ripening. To ripen bananas or tomatoes quickly, they are placed in paper bags and loosely closed to trap the ethylene and accelerate the process. When the hormone surrounds foods that are already ripened, it makes them overripe and deteriorate. Green bags contain a polymer that reduces the ethylene and promotes the absorption of other gases to prevent spoilage.

Observations

Green bags appear to work on certain vegetables like lettuce and broccoli but not ones with fragile exteriors like strawberries. In addition, many consumers and food experts question whether their high cost is worth it when conventional plastic bags with zipper-like closures work equally as well.

Usage Tips

Never store different types of fruits and vegetables in the same bag. Drying foods as much as possible and packing them loosely increases the performance of the bags. If reusing the bags, wash and dry them thoroughly between uses.

References

• Iowa State University Extension; Do the New "Green Bags" Really Keep Food Fresh?; Sam Beattie; April 3, 2009
• Bright Star Promotions: How Do Green Bags Work?