Some foods to watch

wondering how long it’s taken certain foods to reach the shelves – and what’s happened to it to ensure it gets there looking fresh? here’s a quick guide…

✢ Fish Food Standards Agency guidelines say that fish may be labelled as fresh if it has “been kept chilled on ice, but not stored deep frozen”. But one report found a lot of the “fresh” fish on sale at supermarket counters was nearly three weeks old. ✢ New ZealaNd lamb It’s come a long way, transported in near-freezing conditions – so it’s not surprising to learn it may be nearly two weeks old by the time it reaches your plate. ✢ bread Those “fresher for longer” sliced loaves keep for a long time because they’ve been pumped full of enzymes to preserve them. But don’t be fooled by the bread “freshly baked” in a supermarket’s bakery.

Often, that’s prepared a couple of days in advance and finished off in store. ✢ potatoes Smaller varieties such as Jersey Royals will be fresher but the larger baking potatoes keep well and could be six months from picking by the time you buy them.

✢ baNaNas Usually picked when green in Central America, it takes over a week to ship them, in plastic to help preserve them. They’re then treated with a plant hormone to ripen them.

✢ apples Although these are native to the UK, many of our apples come from abroad, particularly

New Zealand. They’re shipped in refrigerated containers and treated with gases to prevent over-ripening.