• The strawberries were checked at the same time every day (5:30 pm).

• They were all removed from the fridge at the same time and placed back at the same time.

• The results are documented throughout via written observations, photographs and video footage.

Day 1

• After day one all the strawberries remained the same, there was little to no change in any of the storage solutions

Day 2

• When observed on the second day all the strawberries in foil had begun to soften, one in the airtight container had slightly softened, the ones in supermarket packaging were still quite firm whilst the ones in the bowl were still a perfect hardness.

VIDEO

Day 3

• The strawberries in the foil had become very soft and by just looking at them you could see moisture on their surfaces, day 3 could have seen these strawberries be classified as un-fresh. The airtight container strawberries showed slight change from day two but not a lot, whilst surprisingly the ones in the supermarket container were starting to show moisture and were softer.

• The strawberries in the bowl again showed no change and remained fresh.

Image and video

The moisture can be seen in this image

Day 4

• The ones in the foil were now declared un-fresh; they were showing a lot of moisture and that moisture was evident on the foil. The ones in the supermarket container were quite soft but not excreting any moisture yet, whilst the airtight container strawberries again stayed relatively the same with the moisture condensing around the sides of the container rather than on the strawberries.

• The strawberries in the bowl were the same, a perfect hardness and very fresh, believed to be because the paper towel was taking all the moisture out.

Video and images

The colouring from the strawberries has transferred onto foil

The cmoisture on the strawberry is obvious as is colouring on foil

Day 5

• We still checked the strawberries in the foil and they were worse than the previous day, excreting a lot of moisture and red colouring.

• The supermarket container strawberries were extremely soft and only showing a little moisture but were shriveling at the top.

• The airtight container strawberries had a heap of water condensation around it, the strawberries were still quite firm with no liquid coming off them.

• The strawberries in the bowl were the same as previous days and had softened only very slightly but had absolutely no liquid or colour coming off them.

VIDEO

Day 6

• By day 6 both lots of strawberries in the plastic containers were soft and excreting moisture. They were classified as no longer fresh on the sixth day.

• The strawberries in the bowl continued to remain fresh and edible.

Images

The strawberries from the airtight container can be seen here to have turned squishy and soft. Moisture is visible on their surfaces and when they were touched they left colouring on skin.

Images

These images of the strawberries from the supermarket container show how soft and inedible these strawberries had become. In the top picture moisture is obvious on the finger from touching the strawberry.

Day 7

• On day 7, there was only the strawberries in the bowl with paper towel to check. They were still relatively fresh but I would predict they would only last maximum another two days as they were beginning to soften.

Days of freshness for strawberries in each storage solution

* Strawberries in bowl and paper towel still fresh after 7 days.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Days of freshness

Foil

Airtight container

Supermarket Container

Bowl and paper towel*

What happened?

• Strawberries decline so quickly because of the soggy, cold wet air that surrounds them and allows bacteria to breed. The ones in the foil therefore lost their freshness soonest because the air wasn’t given a chance to circulate and the moisture fermented on the strawberries breeding bacteria.

• The strawberries in the bowl with paper towel lasted the longest because they had no covering and the air around was able to circulate. They also lasted longer because the paper towel drew the moisture in, away from the strawberries meaning the moisture wasn’t breeding bacteria.

What changes could be made?

• If I was to do this experiment again I would choose some different storage methods, as the airtight container and supermarket container wielded similar results. I would use a colander as many forums suggest.

• I would try another approach to this experiment and leave some strawberries out of the fridge and some inside the fridge.

• I would have a more specific measurement of freshness, as this was slightly subjective.