Look, TikTok hacks can often be handy and there’s plenty of them that we’ll swear by — but please, for the love of God and all that is holey, do not try the avocado storage hack because you could end up violently shitting yourself.
TikTok loves fruit storage hacks but one in particular has become very popular: how to store avocados. Creators on the app insist popping avocados in a container of water before you put them in the fridge makes them last longer and stops them from turning brown.
The hack makes sense — I mean, there’s plenty of similar ones when it comes to storing lemons, carrots and celery, and it works.
By submerging your avocados in water, you essentially stop them from oxidising which is what turns the fruit brown, which is a win for those of us trying to make our fresh produce last longer during this costa lizzie.
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BUT, the hack is actually not a good idea and experts have warned you really shouldn’t try it.
As it turns out, leaving your fresh fruit festering in water can make you sick, because it allows nasty bacteria like listeria and salmonella (AKA pathogens associated with cold/ready-to-eat foods like salads) to grow on the skin of the avo, which can make you really ill and cause diarrhoea.
“By storing them in water, it’s only likely to increase the risk of these bacteria which may be harmlessly existing on the fruit’s skin,” registered dietitian Dr Duane Mellor told The Daily Mail.
Nutritionist Toby King also warned that washing your avo is not enough to save you from the yucky germs.
“Some social media users believe that they can disinfect the skins from these harmful pathogens,” he said.
“But listeria can infiltrate the pulp of the avocado when in storage.
“Disinfecting the skin in this instance wouldn’t help.”
Welp. Here’s how you should actually store avocados: stick to cling-wrapping your avocado halves, or sprinkling them with lemon juice in classic nonna style. Or just eat the whole avocado in one go by making the most monstrous avo toast imaginable, that’s what I do.
