Here’s Why You Should Never Buy Pre-Cut Fruit And Vegetables

• Pre-cut fruit and vegetables are more expensive
• They tend to retain less water and vitamins
• You can't store them for too long

There are plenty of good reasons why pre-packaged items are best left on the grocery store shelf. Not only are they more costly, there is the issue of nutrient loss, anti-browning dips and more. Keep reading to find out why pre-cut fruit should be avoided.

They're not budget friendly

It is shocking just how much higher the cost of pre-cut produce is compared to whole fruits and veggies.

In 2018, a comparison was carried out to see how much you could save by avoiding the pre-cut, pre-packaged stuff, and the conclusion was that the average consumer would save about $100 each month by doing the food prep themselves.

The price differences between whole and chunked produce can be staggering. Red onions at Walmart, for instance, cost 49 cents per pound. If you buy them pre-diced, you're looking at an astounding $4 per pound.

They're not as healthy

Pre-cut fruit and veggies are still fruit and veggies, but this only means they're a more healthy choice compared to junks.

Former grocery store dietitian Caroline West Passerrello said, "Cutting fruits or vegetables exposes them to oxygen and light, and sometimes heat, all of which affect vitamin retention in food."

She also said that because cut produce loses water faster, it means that water soluble vitamins like B and C will also evaporate faster.

They could make you sick

The reason they're so deadly is that they're grown in the ground which means their skins could be tainted with several pathogens that could be transferred to the flesh with a knife.

"Once the contamination is inside the fruit, it's an element of time because salmonella can double every 30 minutes," professor of food science Keith Warriner said.

They have a shorter shelf life

Once cut, fruits and veggies have a shorter shelf life. This is because of the respiration rate which is raised as soon as you cut into fruits and veggies.

Respiration is the breaking down of sugars within the produce and it releases carbon dioxide, which in turn breaks down the flesh and leads to faster spoilage, and an undesirable change in flavor and texture.

These are just a few reasons to make you think twice about precut food, so remember that whole is always better.