Clearly Fresh Bags: Review

I was contacted recently by the sample team at Clearly Fresh Bags to try out their product and see how I liked it. Clearly Fresh Bags are special bags meant to keep produce fresher for longer. I'm sure you've seen infomercials and similar items in the stores. I tried an as seen on TV kind a few years ago when I was eating raw for the most part and always had pounds of produce. What intrigued me about this particular brand was the zip closure top. I figured even if I didn't end up using them they would work just as well as a Ziploc bag would for travel or freezing foods.

 The product how it arrived

Special BreatheWay technology is what allows the produce to breathe and create it's own environment

Very convenient panel for labeling what will go in each bag

Day 1 for the bananas

The claim with Clearly Fresh Bags is that the produce will last 50% longer inside the bag than it would sitting on the counter or in the fridge on it's own. So instead of your bananas lasting 4 days on the counter they will last 6 inside the bag. I cannot tell a lie, so I'll break down the pros and cons of this product.

Pros:

• Great packaging
• Very convenient zip top
• Large, a full gallon bag
• Date & Contents tab on the bag just like a Ziploc has
• The product specifies on the original packaging which produce belongs on the fridge and which should stay out
• Detailed instructions on the bag, as well as the website

Cons:

• My bananas were completely rotten within 7 days of putting them in the bags
• Doesn't stand up to the claim
• Better for vegetables, such as lettuce, that don't release as much gas into the air
• You have to pay for shipping

Bananas day 3, you can already see browning and a build up of moisture

 The photo below is day 7, and that's after I caved and put them in the fridge because I could tell they were going bad

 The eggplant was great, but it was only in the bag for a couple of days

The tomatoes stayed fresh in the bag for over a week, which was great

What I do believe these are great for are items we buy in bulk sometimes such as tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, and herbs. I hate spending countless dollars on lettuce for salads only to have them get mushy and brown after a couple of days. Even while using these bags I still believe it would be best to line them in a paper towel after washing and drying. I recommend these bags for those of you who seem to have trouble keeping fruits and vegetables for even a couple of days without them turning on you.

There are pros and cons with every item, but I found that the cons outweigh the pros because when it comes down to it these didn't work for the items that we seem to have trouble keeping good for longer. I have experience with keeping herbs, vegetables, and fruits better for longer by using simple tricks such as: washing them right away, drying them well, storing them in a regular Ziploc with a paper towel to absorb extra moisture, putting things in the fridge, and freezing berries on a sheet pan then placing in freezer bags. In my opinion, you don't need fancy produce bags to keep food good for longer. Fresh fruits and vegetables aren't meant to be kept for weeks on end, or even days really. I buy as needed, and I believe that's the most cost effective way of shopping. When I buy bananas, as soon as they're ripe they go straight into the fridge. The outside will brown and that freaks people out, but I've kept bananas good for up to a week just by keeping them in the fridge.

Check out the website for yourself! I think if you're having trouble keeping your produce fresh these are the bags you should try, mainly for the zip top. I will try them out with root vegetables such as potatoes and onions and see how they do. The price isn't terrible, it's $3.99 USD for 10 of these one gallon bags. The downside to ordering off the website is the shipping. It's $2.22 USD to ship one item, that bumps the price up to over $5 for 10 bags when $5 would buy you about 52 of the regular zip top bags in the grocery store. 

I want to say thank you to Clearly Fresh Bags for letting me try out and review your product! ^_^