It’s extraordinary the extent of food wastage in Australia, with fruit and vegetables topping the list. Eating these foods is essential for good health, and we certainly don't want to waste them, but it's so easy to buy too much food 'just in case', rather than planning family meals for the week in advance.

There's a few good web sites that can help identify how to store different fruit and vegetables to maximise shelf life, for example which give off gases that ripen other fruit so they shouldn't be stored together, which should or shouldn't go in the refrigerator, and how long they will keep, depending on how they are stored. Some need to be stored in a cool place, others in the refrigerator in plastic bags, and there's also special containers that can be partly opened to allow moisture to escape, or seal completely.

Try the CSIRO's site with information on storage of perishable food and fruit and vegetables. The fresh for kids site also has useful information, as does Passionfoods site.

Some fruit and vegetables sensitive to ethylene gas will spoil quickly if stored in the same areas as others. So, to avoid food waste, try segregating to make your food last longer. This guide will help:

These generate ethylene gas:

Apples, apricots, avocados, ripening bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, citrus fruit (not grapefruit), cranberries, figs, guavas, grapes, green onions, honeydew, ripe kiwi fruit, mangoes, melons, mushrooms, nectarines, okra, papayas, passion fruit, peaches, pears, peppers, persimmons, pineapple, plantains, plums, prunes, quinces, tomatoes and watermelon.

These are affected by ethylene gas:

Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cucumbers, cut flowers, eggplant, endive, escarole, florist greens, green beans, kale, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, lettuce, parsley, peas, peppers, potatoes, potted plants, romaine lettuce spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress and yams.

And if you want some recipes to use up excess fruit and vegetables, there's plenty on this web site or have a look at the Sydney markets web site for what's in season this month and how to enjoy them.

Comments (0)