When you grocery shop, does all your produce go in plastic produce bags?
Stop The Madness, Please!
Every time I go grocery shopping I see someone putting bananas in plastic produce bags. My earth loving heart can’t take it. Why on earth do bananas need to go in a plastic bag? They’re already attached together as a bunch! There are a variety of other produce items that I see going into plastic produce bags and during my last trip, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A plastic carton of strawberries in a plastic bag. I just don’t understand! I wish I was a millionaire so I could afford to hand out reusable produce bags to my heart’s content but alas, I am not, yet!
Why Do We Put Produce in Plastic Bags?
Is it something we’ve just always done? Did we watch our parents do it and just continued the tradition when we flew the nest? I know, we’re just trying to keep everything nice and organized, right? Wrong, I’ve seen any number of people put one lemon in a bag, one orange in a bag, one cucumber in a bag, you get my point. Why does a cantaloupe need a bag? WHY! Hard skin fruits and vegetables do not need a bag. You’re not going to eat the skin anyway so does it really matter!
Will produce last longer and stay fresher in plastic bags? Turns out the answer is not yes.
Should Produce Go In Plastic Bags?
Depends on the question. Are you worried about germs and bacteria OR are you concerned with how your produce gets stored at home? Sure, grocery carts are dirty but I got news for you, that produce probably isn’t clean before you put it in your cart anyway.
If your concern is germs and bacteria, just remember, that produce in the grocery store is not clean. It’s been passed through well, there’s no telling how many hands have touched that produce from the time it was harvested to the time you select it. How many people have sneezed or coughed on it? How many people have picked their noses or had their hands god knows where before they picked up that apple, decided it wasn’t the right one and put it back. It’s dirty before it even ends up in your cart or basket. All produce should be washed, not when you get home but before you cook or consume it.
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Wash Your Produce
My Public Service Announcement – rinsing with water isn’t enough. You’ve really got to be good about washing your produce. It’s like washing your hands during cold and flu season, you.just.have.to.do.it! The best time to wash your produce is just before you prepare it to cook or consume. For things like berries and mushrooms, it’s best to wash those just before cooking or consumption.
Of course, if we’re talking about greens, you can wash those, spin them dry in a salad spinner and then use or store them. If you leave them in plastic bags, they get gross and slimy. I may or may not have learned this from personal experience.
I use this to store my greens:
There are several produce washes on the market but if you’re in a pinch or don’t prefer to buy produce wash, you can simply let your produce soak in a bowl of water and a splash of white vinegar for 5 or so minutes. Then rinse it and have at it. It really is that simple.
I’ll be climbing down from my soapbox now. Cut a girl some slack, we all have our triggers. Unnecessary use of plastic produce bags is mine. All I ask is that you consider whether the produce you are buying really needs a plastic bag. If it doesn’t, don’t use one. If it does, consider investing in some reusable produce bags. You can learn more about those right here. And please, always recycle your plastic bags!
Plastic pollution is such a problem not only in our country but in the world, we all have to do our part to reduce our consumption. I won’t climb on that soapbox here, you can read all about the problem of plastic pollution right over here.
Make it a green day!
Yes!!!! I LOVE this post and could not agree more!! Thanks for writing!! Sharing now!! ???
Thanks Pam! Sometimes I think people are just so accustomed to doing things one way, it doesn’t even occur to them to do it differently.
Great post! I love my reusable produce bags! Also a great reminder about washing produce!
Thanks Chelsea! I love my reusable as well, hopefully they’ll become more
Mainstream in the near future.
I had never thought about this while shopping for my fruits and veggies. Thanks for the insights and different perspective.
Absolutely! Reusable produce bags are so easy to find and use.
I couldn’t agree more. I generally just use bags for cilantro and leaf lettuce. I should purchase some bags to bring with me. The other day, I picked out 4 jalopeñas (I didn’t bag them) and when I got to the register, I only had 2. I guess 2 of them fell through the cart and are rolling around the grocery store.
I love my reusable produce bags. I use them for everything but if I run out, things just don’t get bagged. Poor jalapeño’s, roaming around the grocery store floor. I’m always afraid that will happen to mine. I’m sure once or twice I’ve gotten home without a few things.
One reason that I love to shop at ALDI! It helps to cut the mindless use of plastic. 😉
Oh yes! Plastic bags in particular have become so common and routine, we don’t even notice it anymore.
What a great reminder about how thoughtlessly wasteful we generally are! Time for all of us to make some changes in our shopping behaviour today! Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
Thanks Cheryl! There are so many small changes we can make to our daily routines that we’ll hardly even notice.
I agree! The plastic usage in stores are excessive. With COVID-19 going on right now, it is increasing. I understand it though because it gives people a sense of security when they but their groceries in a bag. What do you think of this?
I suppose it can give a sense of security but I guess I”m not entirely sure why if you think it through, the produce has been sitting out for anyone to touch, cough on, breathe on, etc so putting it in a bag is useless at that point. I really just think people are conditioned to think all produce goes in a bag.