How to Stop Spoiling Your Produce: Which Fresh Produce Should Not Be Stored Together

Have you ever shopped for fresh produce, put everything away, left for the weekend, and returned to see half of your produce spoiled? Ethylene might be the culprit.

Not all fruits and veggies play nice together. There are three categories of fruits and vegetables, and only certain kinds of produce should be stored together. The three categories are divided based on how they interact with or produce a substance called ethylene.

At Farmbox Delivery, we want our community to make informed decisions about their food. Knowing how best to store fruit and veggies will lead to less food waste, less money wasted, and more delicious Texas food and local produce to be enjoyed by all!

What is ethylene?

Ethylene is an organic chemical that exists in gas form that is released by some fresh fruits and vegetables. Ethylene is known as the fruit-ripening hormone, and the amount of ethylene produced by a fruit is one of the determinates of how ripe a fruit or veggie will get and how soon it will go bad and become overripe.

Ethylene producers release ethylene as they ripen. Some ethylene producers only release the gas when they are nearly overripe.

Ethylene-sensitive fruits and veggies experience negative effects and become overripe and spoiled quickly when exposed to ethylene producers.

Not ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables neither produce ethylene nor are bothered by the produce that does produce ethylene (exception: tomatoes, which are not ethylene sensitive but do produce ethylene).

So, which fruits and veggies can be stored together, and which can’t?

The Ethylene Categories

Ethylene Producers (Also Sensitive to Ethylene)

• Apples 
• Avocados 
• Bananas 
• Cantaloupe 
• Kiwi 
• Peaches 
• Pears 
• Peppers 

Ethylene Producers (Not Sensitive to Ethylene)

• Tomatoes 

Non-Ethylene Produces (Ethylene Sensitive)

• Asparagus 
• Broccoli 
• Collard Greens 
• Cucumber 
• Eggplant 
• Grapes 
• Honeydew 
• Lemons 
• Lettuce
• Limes
• Mangos 
• Onions 
• Squash
• Sweet Potatoes 
• Watermelon 

Non-Ethylene Producers (Not Sensitive to Ethylene)

• Blueberries 
• Cherries 
• Beans (Snap) 
• Garlic 
• Grapefruit 
• Oranges 
• Pineapple 
• Potatoes 
• Raspberries 
• Strawberries 
• Tomatoes 
• Yucca

Noticing some overlap? All of the fruits and veggies on this list that produce ethylene are also sensitive to ethylene. The only exception is tomatoes, which produce ethylene but are not sensitive to it.

What can I do?

To keep your fresh produce from becoming overripe and spoiling, do not store fruits and veggies that produce ethylene with those that are sensitive to ethylene. This rule applies to both refrigerated and non-refrigerated produce.

Storing all of your bananas together is fine, for example, but do not store your bananas and apples next to each other. Try to store all of your ethylene producers separately, and feel free to store your non-ethylene producers together.

By referencing this list and keeping your ethylene-sensitive produce away from your ethylene-producing produce, you’ll keep your fruits and veggies fresh for longer, helping you save money and eat a healthy, nutritious diet.

And to make sure you stock up on your favorite local Texas produce every week, give Farmbox Delivery a try!