Why are my cucumbers shrink wrapped?

A number of enquiries are received about the use of shrink wrap on cucumbers – so why do we do it?

Shrink wrap:-

1. Prevents dehydration and physical damage to the cucumber in transit from the grower to
the supermarket.

2. Prevents dirty hands touching the cucumber –  strict hygiene regulations are in place during production but what about the person in the store that handled the cucumber just before you picked it up?

3 . Helps prevent cold injury – see “why do my cucumbers go rotten in the fridge” elsewhere on
the site.

4. Reduces moisture losses from the fruit in the fridge – the main reasons for deterioration are cold injury and
dehydration.

The start and end photographs show the same cucumbers on day one and then again 11 days later after being stored
together in a domestic fridge salad tray. The moisture loss and subsequent quality losses are obvious compared to
the shrink wrapped cucumber.

Keep the wrapping on the cucumber until you have finished with it then place the plastic in the recycling.

DAY 1 – STARTING CONDITION                     DAY 11 – NAKED FRUIT RUINED

                                                                           WRAPPED FRUIT STILL OK