Saturday, April 17, 2010

Product Review-Debbie Meyer Green Bags

My husband and I own a FoodSaver®, which we LOVE.  Seriously, it's an excellent investment.  We've had ours for about 12 or 13 years and we use it all the time.  Well, we've had *a* FoodSaver® for the last 12-13 years, not *the same* FoodSaver®.  We did have to replace our first one...I don't remember why.  Anyway, we were buying some replacement FoodSaver® bags the other day, and stocked alongside them were the Debbie Meyer GreenBags® (As Seen on TV!).  While we love the FoodSaver® products, there are some uses for which the Debbie MeyerTM GreenBags® (DMGB) might be a better choice, like fruits and vegetables, which, coincidentally, is exactly what they are marketed for.  So, having seen the infomercial and being suckers for advertising, we thought we'd give them a try.  I figured I wasn't the only one out there who wanted to know whether or not these things really worked, so I thought I would share my results with you here, limited though they are.

I bought a bunch of bananas on April 6, and I put half of them in the DMGB and left half out on the counter.  I ate all but one from each group, and, in the name of research, I let the remaining two languish well beyond all food safety recommendations.  After 12 days, here are the results:








As you can see, the top banana did not go quite as brown, but there are some mold issues.  To be fair though, the DMGB instructions do say that if any moisture builds up inside the bag, you should wipe it out with a paper towel.  I did this for a few days but then got lazy and didn't.  So, that's probably my fault.  Also, it should be noted, that when I first separated the bananas, the ones in the bag were actually a bit more brown than the ones that I didn't put in the bag, even though they came from the same bunch.  

Conclusion:  Overall, I would say the Debbie MeyerTM GreenBags® do make a difference.  Obviously, I think the recommendation about keeping the bag dry is one that needs to be heeded.  Also, if you go through produce in a reasonable amount of time, this product probably would not provide much benefit, but if you buy in bulk or are just slow consumers of produce, like me, this might be a helpful way to save some money.  

I have some baby spinach in the fridge that I also separated around the same time as the bananas.  I put half in a DMGB, half in the bag that it came in (which I resealed with my FoodSaver®-very handy!).  So far, there doesn't seem to be a noticeable difference between the two bags, but I will let you know if anything changes.    

Disclaimer:  I have not received anything in exchange for this review.  I'm just sharing information.  The product links above are to Amazon.com.  I am an Amazon Associate, so if you decide to purchase any products through my link, I will receive a small referral fee.  The FoodSaver® device that I linked to is the model that we own, and as far as I can tell, it is no longer available on the FoodSaver® site.  

If you would like to go directly to the source, please visit the FoodSaver and Debbie Meyer FoodFresh SystemTM web sites.

4 comments:

Mike said...

My son has been telling me we need to buy these bags for a long time. I think the commercial plays during cartoons a lot. :)

It's good to know they work, though having to wipe moisture out of the bag seems like it would be a pain.

Reading this was like watching Mythbusters! :) thanks for doing the test for the rest of us.

Dreamybee said...

The moisture might not be as much of an issue if you are in a drier climate-just opening the bag up to let it air out each day might do the trick.

Has your son identified a particular need for the bags, or does he just think they would be cool to have? I will admit to buying them, in part, so that I could run experiments like this!

Mike said...

I think just because he saw them on TV it is something we need. :)

Dreamybee said...

I guess the marketers have found their target audience-LOL!