STORING UP TROUBLE

THe way you store your food can have surprising effects for health. This week: Keep olive oil away from the cooker IT MIGHT make it handy to grab when cooking, but high temperatures can reduce the levels of heart-healthy antioxidants such as vitamin E in oils stored by the stove.

A study at Italy’s University of Foggia found antioxidant levels in extra-virgin olive oil had fallen by 40 per cent within six months of home storage.

To keep it as potent as possible, the researchers suggest keeping olive oil in a dark cupboard, at temperatures lower than 20c (68f).

They also suggest you only buy it in small bottles or tins. This means the product is exposed to less oxygen — oxygenation also destroys antioxidants — and you’re more likely to use it up before the antioxidants degrade.