AboutCarol Schlitt Expertise I can answer questions on home food safety, sanitation, home food preservation and commercial food safety (HACCP).
Experience I am an Extension educator, nutrition, wellness and food safety. I am a certified HACCP manager and a food safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Organizations International Association for Food Protection, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (Certified CFCS), National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Society for Nutrition Education.
Education/Credentials BS - University of Illinois
MS - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Question How long can you store organic fruit in the refrigerator before they rot? How do you explain the black spots that develop on bananas? Are you actually supposed to store fruits in the refrigerator?
Answer Hi Hong-Siang,
Whether fruit is organically grown or not, the length of time fruit can stay fresh in the refrigerator varies from fruit to fruit. For example, apples can last up to a month in a 37 degree refrigerator but strawberries last only a few days.
The black spots on bananas are aging spots. These are caused by ethylene gas that is used to ripen the bananas. Bananas are harvest rock-hard green and sent around the world in this state. To ripen, they are placed in ehylene gas chambers to turn them from green to yellow. As the banana ages, the yellow turns to brown spots and eventually completely black. This is just the aging process of the banana. You can slow down the process by keeping them in a cooler place (not refrigerator -- that will speed up the darkening of the skin). Amazingly, once a banana is ripe you can keep it in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks!
