Green Bags to Preserve Freshness – Do They Work and Should You Use Them?

No doubt you’ve seen the ads on TV for Green Bags, which are designed to preserve fresh produce for up to 10 times its normal life. Well, last month we received a message from Clementine in Texas, asking whether we thought they were a good idea.

To be frank, our instant reaction to Green Bags the first time we saw them was to avoid them completely – we feel the nutritional value of the food inside them must surely decline over time. Also, it just seems plain wrong to keep fruits and veggies 10 times longer than nature dictates (well, unless they’re frozen or canned, of course!).

But, in the interests of fairness, we decided to do a little research into just whether or not Green Bags actually do what they say they do – and whether or not they appear to have any detrimental effects on the produce they’re preserving!

How do Green Bags work?

Before we tell you what we found, let’s take a look at just how Green Bags work!

When fruits and vegetables ripen, they produce something called ethylene gas. Ethylene gas actually causes further ripening – it is used industrially to artificially ripen produce that has been picked early and its effects can be seen when you place an unripened piece of fruit in a bowl with other, riper fruits. The unripened fruit will ripen quickly – thanks to the ethylene gas the other fruits are producing.

The principle behind Green Bags is that they absorb the ethylene gas as it is produced, preventing the fruits/veggies from ripening further and prolonging their life.

According to the official Green Bags website, the bags were invented when scientists involved in Antarctic exploration – looking for ways to keep produce fresh for longer – came across a Japanese method of preserrving produce in caves made of a clay called ‘oya’. The oya absorbed ethylene gas… giving birth to the idea of bags that could do the same!

So do Green Bags really work?

20 contributors told us about their experiences with Green Bags… and here’s what they said!

65% said they work as advertised

20% said they were disappointed with the results

15% said they work – but had some reservations about their use

Alexander Petti finds them useful for preserving produce from seasonal veg boxes…

My wife and I belonged to a farm-coop, which meant we picked up a box-load of seasonal fresh veg and fruit every two weeks.

Because they’re locally grown, they’re picked when they’re at their ripest, and so you suddenly are faced with fruit and veg which goes from ripe to over-ripe in normal time. We’re used to things being slightly green at shops, and lasting much longer in the fridge.

We bought the green bags and they really helped, particularly for delicate things like bunches of herbs, plums, lettuce etc.

Highly recommend to anyone!

And Emily Weiss from Minnesota has even conducted her own home experiment, to put Green Bags to the test…

I conducted a little experiment when I first got the bags and I can tell you that the bell pepper I left in the crisper drawer was wrinkly and softening within three days whereas the one in the green bag was preserved perfectly for a little over a week.

I also especially love my green bags for keeping fresh herbs. You know how when you buy dill, parsley, or cilantro at the regular grocery store they always bunch it into a massive amount that you can never use all up before it spoils? Keep it longer in the green bags. Really

Jacqueline Freeman from Friendly Haven Rise Farm (friendly link) also tested Green Bags on her farm…

We pick apples from our orchard and keep them in the fridge. I put a lot of the unbagged apples in one fridge and then I bagged up the same kind of apples in a big green bag in another fridge. We picked in October and I ate one apple each month to test how they were doing. The apples in MARCH were still crisp. I have to say, we were amazed.

And Karen Tennant has found them useful for a range of fruits and veggies…

I’ve been using the bags for over a year and absolutely know they make a difference.  Bananas are the biggest thing as they stay yellow and firm for a week in a bag.  Also use them for blueberries,  grapes and baby carrots.  My baby carrots used to get slimy in a matter of days and now they stay dry and fresh for a couple weeks if it takes me that long to use them up.  I put my blueberries and grapes in the bags when I bring them home from the store and almost never have to throw any away that have rotted or molded.  Tomatoes also stay firm and fresh on my pantry shelf for a week in a green bag.  This time of year in the Midwest they come from who knows where but actually taste like a tomato after a couple days in the bag.  I have the best luck with the “on vine” variety of tomato

Given the glowing praise given to Green Bags by the majority of our contributors, it was surprising to hear that others found them less than effective!

Carolyn Stephens told us

After reading a positive review of these on the blog “Wasted Food” I bought some. I am less than impressed. The instructions for use point out that moisture is the culprit and that the veggies should be dry. Well, that’s easier said than done. I find that they are more trouble than they are worth and don’t keep my produce fresher than wrapping them in a paper towel before storing in a zip top bag

And Brenda Avadian, MA of TheCaregiversVoice.com agreed, saying…

Hubby and I have bought and used multi-sizes of these bags and I have to admit, they just don’t work. The rest are still sittin’ in the pantry.

What works is just a regular store bag not sealed with a napkin placed inside in the case of parsley or cilantro that give off a lot of moisture

Quite a drastic difference of opinion – although excess moisture definitely seems to play a part in the effectiveness of the bag – the official website takes pains to point out that produce must be COMPLETELY dry before being placed in the bag.

But a couple of our contributors remarked on the fact that produce stored in the Green Bags didn’t taste quite as it should!

Carolyn Bisazza from Edgemont, PA, told us…

I use them both for refrigerated items and room temperature such as my fruit bowl and onions and potatoes.

They do keep fresh produce fresh much longer.  I’ve had really good luck with fresh herbs like basil and parsley.

One drawback, even though they keep bananas longer, my husband says they make them taste different, so I don’t use the bags for bananas

And Brenda Lachman had concerns, too…

The food indeed stayed fresher for a longer period of time… 
However I did have a concern for how these bags may affect the nutritive quality of the food, flavor was slightly different than that when fresh, so I haven’t continued using them. I am a nature, organic, fresh food freak, so I went back to going to the grocery store every day to get the freshest produce I can get for my family.

Nancy O’Neill, like us, finds the idea of preserving produce so long a little disconcerting…

I put a head of lettuce in the one that Mom gave me and it lasted more than a month.  Even though it was still perfectly green and healthy looking, we didn’t eat what was left because I still wonder what’s really happening to the food in the bag.  Who knows?  Maybe it gives it a fresh look but it’s not that healthy to eat after an extended period of time.   But at least it stayed fresh a lot longer than not using the bag.
 
I wish I was a better “scientist” because I’d do my own research and see if the food still remains exactly the same

Our conclusion?

Green Bags certainly seem to do as the advertisements promise and preserve produce for longer than storing it in regular bags. BUT – in our opinion – the ripening effects of ethylene gas can be similarly minimized to some extent by storing fruits and vegetables unwrapped – which allows the ethylene gas to simply dissipate into the air!

And – given the remarks of some of our contributors and the lack of any real scientific research into the subject – we’re still not convinced that the bags don’t have any adverse effects on the nutritional value of the food, simply because they involve keeping it for an extended period of time.

Registered Dietitian Jill Nussinow (MS,RD) and founder of The Veggie Queen (friendly link) agrees, saying…

I have used green bags and think that they work. But more importantly, I think that people need to examine why they want to keep their vegetables or fruit for so long. It tastes best when used fairly soon after purchase. The term just-picked is used by marketers for a reason – it’s better.

So we STILL recommend buying fruits and veggies – particularly those intended for use in your baby food recipes – as and when you need them , preferably from farmer’s markets or other local providers who can assure freshness. Failing that, then we still believe that freshly frozen produce has to beat ‘fresh’ produce that’s been stored for up to a month in the refrigerator!

So what do YOU think?

Have you tried Green Bags – and did they work for you? Did you feel the quality of the food was affected? Would you consider using produce preserved in a Green Bag in your baby food recipes? We’d love to hear your comments!