Eli5 why do supermarkets wrap fruit and veg in plastic when they have their own protective layering?
In: 4
Human hands are filthy. Fruit are protected against the things that happen as they grow, but once they’re ripe they can decay quickly. People handling fruit/veggies will bruise some, leave yeasts and bacteria on the surface which will happily start to digest the food. As the plants wilt, the natural protection breaks down too, making them more vulnerable.
It’s also add protection during transport. Fruit might be fine on the tree, but not so much in a box shaken around for days.
So mostly the packaging protects the food from contamination and damage. It doesn’t spoil so quickly.
In part it’s also because some people don’t like the thought of others having handled their food already, and prefer things to be wrapped (at least in a self-serve supermarket).
And some things need a container, not necessarily plastic, but *something.* You can’t really offer loose raspberries at a supermarket, they’ll be squashed as people try to pick them up. Fragile berries like that are usually packaged into their little containers right at harvest.
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