Stats SA reports that 10 million tonnes of food goes to waste in South Africa each year. Leaving aside the awful waste implications, the reality is that food waste takes a toll on your budget too. Every time you throw away food that has expired or gone bad, you are effectively throwing away the money you spent.
Carol Guedes, head of sales at LG Electronics, says storing food properly in your fridge can maximise its shelf life. These are her top tips:
🥩Keep raw meat, poultry and seafood on the bottom shelf. This prevents juices, which could contain harmful bacteria, from dripping onto other food. Use sealed containers to minimise leaks.
🥛🧀Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt should be kept on the upper shelves where the temperature is more consistent.
🧃The door shelves are usually the least-cool space in the fridge, since they are constantly being opened. This makes them a good place for condiments such as sauce bottles, or juices.
🍓🥕Fruit and vegetables should be stored in separate fridge drawers. This is important because some fruits release ethylene gas that can cause vegetables to spoil faster.
🍠🍌Some vegetables such as onions and potatoes, as well as some fruits, are best kept at room temperature.
🌡️Don’t overfill your fridge because this can restrict air circulation and lead to uneven cooling. Guedes warns that this can speed up food spoilage and increase the risk of bacterial growth.
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This week’s questions:
A hack I saw online and have implemented successfully is to top, tail and peel carrots when I buy them. I store them in an airtight container filled with water (covering the carrots) in the fridge. It cuts down on prep time and the carrots last longer (up to two and a half weeks). The water needs to be changed every two to three days.
❓What storage tricks do you use to make sure your fruit and vegetables don’t go to waste?
❓What have you done to ensure that your meals and grocery budget stretch further?
I’m so looking forward to hearing from you.
Helping you know more, so you can manage your money better.
Neesa Moodley
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