by Robert Gidley

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 30, 2011

Debbie Meyer Green Bags are plastic bags that claim to keep produce fresher longer, and save you money because you're not throwing away rotten fruits and vegetables.

But do they work?

Let's look at the theory behind the bags. According to the Debbie Meyer website, the bags are made with a clay called "oya" that absorbs ethylene and keeps produce fresh.

But what does ethylene have to do with produce?

It turns out that ethylene has quite a bit to do with keeping produce fresh. It's involved in all phases of plant growth. Ethylene helps seeds sprout, flowers bloom and fruit ripen. Although a relatively simple compound, ethylene acts as a potent plant hormone.

All parts of a plant can produce ethylene - some plants produce it when injured and it acts so as to let the rest of the plant know about the problem. Fruit and vegetables you buy in the store produces a small but steady stream of ethylene even as they sit in their displays.

You've heard the saying, "One bad apple can spoil the barrel"? Yep, it sure can. As produce rots, it produces more ethylene and that ethylene makes nearby fruit ripen (and rot) faster.

So it's a good idea to absorb the ethylene and protect fruit, but "oya"?

Oya is a form of zeolite, which is the name for many different types of minerals made from silicate and aluminum. You've probably run across it in non-clumping cat litter and aquarium filters.

Zeolite has a very regular structure, full of teeny little holes and it is very good at filtering (and purifying) things. Depending on which of the 175 types of zeolite you are using, you can filter out different compounds such as ammonia (making it handy for cat litter).

Ethylene is much larger and chemically active than the main components of air (nitrogen and oxygen), so it's entirely possible for a type of zeolite (say, "oya") to filter it out from air.

So the green bags could work, but do they?

Consumer tests, such as those run by TV station KDKA return mixed results, but also overlook a few things.

It's important to force air out of the bags before putting them in the refrigerator-the ethylene can float in any air pockets and ripen the produce before it gets absorbed. And the produce that didn't work in their tests (strawberries and bananas) got moldy  -which is not caused by ethylene, but by excess moisture.

For carrots and green peppers, though, which are not as susceptible to mold, the green bags worked as described in keeping the produce fresher longer.

Are they worth it? The Debbie Meyer GreenBags are getting wider distribution and lower prices  -we picked up a pack of 20 bags for ten dollars at a local store, making the price for each bag about 50 cents. The bags don't last forever, and you're supposed to discard them after eight to ten uses, which makes the cost of each use about five to six cents.

So if a bag saves you from throwing out even one green pepper, it has paid for itself.

Ultimately, it depends on your buying habits. If you consistently buy just enough produce to use up before it goes bad, then stick with the free bags your grocery store provides. But if you sometimes buy more than you need and that bunch of carrots turns into a two-week supply, the bags will keep it fresher longer and save you money.

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