The Claim: Refrigeration Preserves Nutrients
THE FACTS
Summer is the time for fresh produce, from farmer’s markets to garden harvests. But consumers may not realize that many fruits and vegetables experience rapid losses in their nutritional value when stored for more than a few days.
In part, that is because the produce has usually already spent days in transport and on shelves before you buy it, said Barbara P. Klein, a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Once they hit the refrigerator, she added, some fruits and vegetables can lose as much as 50 percent of their vitamin C and other nutrients in the ensuing week, depending on the temperature.
But there are several ways around this. One, look for fresh produce that was locally grown — it has usually traveled shorter distances and is still near its nutritional peak — and try not to stock up on more than a week’s supply.
Another option is frozen produce. While frozen fruits and vegetables may lack the flavor and aesthetic appeal of fresh, they are subjected to flash freezing immediately after being picked. That can slow or halt the loss of vitamins and nutrients.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Refrigerating produce does not prevent the loss of its nutrients.
ANAHAD O’CONNOR