Your 'fresh' supermarket apple could be a year old

Close-up of fresh red apples in supermarket
Close-up of fresh red apples in supermarket



Half of the apples sold in British supermarkets could be up to a year old. Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco have been using a technique that means imported apples can be prevented from ripening - and stored for up to 12 months. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'fresh fruit'.

The revelation was made by the Daily Mail, which said that Asda admitted some of the apples on sale were picked between 6 months and 12 months ago, while Tesco and Sainsbury's had been using this approach for more than ten years.

The Times reported that the apples in question are the varieties grown overseas - as far away as New Zealand and Brazil - which make up two thirds of all apples sold in the UK. They are transported by sea, so to stop them going rotten on the way they are placed in chilled environment with a 'modified atmosphere' which lowers the oxygen content and means they don't ripen.

Not just apples

Apples are not the only fresh produce to spend longer than you would expect in storage. In 2013 a shopper found new potatoes in the supermarket at a time of year when there was no chance they were newly harvested. They complained to South Ayrshire Council, who revealed that 'new' potatoes could be up to seven months old. As a result, Tesco rebranded older 'new' potatoes as 'salad potatoes'.

Carrots can last up to nine months - if they are stored just above freezing. They tend to be stored for around five or six months before sale. Bunched carrots with their leaves, meanwhile, will be in the supermarkets within 12 days - because the leaves are far more perishable.

Supermarket fish may be labelled as 'fresh', as long as it has been stored on ice since it was caught (but not deep frozen) and sold within 15 days. Back in 2014 we reported that one food scientist bought and tested 14 pieces of fish from British supermarkets, and discovered that a third of it was between 12 and 15 days old.

The question is whether we should be upset or worried by any of this. On the one hand, tests as to whether fruit and vegetables lose nutrients when stored have been inconclusive, so there is a chance they offer less nutrition than people are expecting. There's also an argument that supermarkets should display details of when the produce was harvested, so consumers can make an informed decision.

However, the supermarkets point out that safe storage means we can eat fresh apples, carrots and new potatoes all year round - and fresh fish even if we're miles from the sea - with no risk to anyone's health.

But what do you think? Does it worry you? Let us know in the comments.



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