One of the questions that many people have about avocados is how to keep them fresh. It seems as if they have such a limited lifespan and when you cut them open, that lifespan is going to be even shorter.
Recently, there have been some viral videos on TikTok that show us how to keep avocados fresh for many weeks. The gist of the method is to use water and refrigeration, but the FDA (FDA) wants us to avoid that trend.
They say that if you leave avocados in water too long, even in the refrigerator, it could breed harmful bacteria. That might even include salmonella, which we would certainly want to avoid.
@shamamamahealing is one of those that shared the hack on TikTok, and they showed how a two-week-old avocado had not changed black after this method was used to preserve the fruit.
She considers it to be some sort of magical method of storing avocado that could lead it to last in the refrigerator for up to a month, though she did delete the video after receiving criticism for it.
The FDA, on the other hand, is warning us that we should not be doing this. According to an agency spokesperson via Newsweek, “The FDA does not recommend this practice.”
The FDA went on to say: “The main concern is with the possibility that any residual human pathogens (i.e., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp, etc.) that may be residing on the avocado surface may potentially multiply during the storage when submerged in water.”
It seems as if the FDA has done their own testing and even though the green may stick around, they are not testing well after this process has been done.
“In addition, research performed by FDA scientists has shown that Listeria monocytogenes has the potential to infiltrate and internalize into the pulp of avocados when submerged in refrigerated dump tanks within 15 days during refrigerated storage. In this case, even surface disinfecting the avocado skin prior to slicing would not be able to remove the contamination.”
The FDA studied 1,615 avocados. They found bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes. That bacteria can make you sick, especially if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are pregnant or a senior citizen. Newsweek went on to report that that bacteria was found in 17.73% of those avocados.
Quite simply, if you dunk an avocado into water and leave it there, the odds are it will multiply bacteria.