AN expert has revealed the foods you should never put in the fridge if you want to prolong their lifespan.

Storing your food correctly could reduce the chance of you being sick, improve the quality of your meals, and help you save money.

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Plumbworld, the bathroom and kitchen expert, has highlighted the top five foods which should never be stored in the fridge.

The foods they listed were tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, and bread which should be kept elsewhere to prolong their life-span.

The expert said: “Storing food correctly isn’t just about taste—it can also save you money and prevent waste – the less often you have to replace spoiled items, the more you can stretch your grocery budget.

“Proper storage keeps your food fresher for longer, meaning fewer trips to the supermarket and more value from what you buy.”

Knowing which foods to keep at room temperature could therefore cut your food bill by a huge sum across the year.

For example – if your food was to last two weeks rather than one you could slash your spending by half.

You should also remember that prices will depend where you shop, and food will last different amounts of time based on its quality, country of origin and sell by date.

You should always check the sell by date on your items before you buy so that you’re not disappointed by food that goes off quickly.

It always helps to reach for the items at the back of the shelf as these are usually the most recently stocked and the most fresh.

To learn how to make your cash stretch further, read the expert’s top tips below.

Tomatoes

Plumbworld revealed that tomatoes kept in the fridge can lose their flavour and texture.

This is because cold temperatures stop them from ripening and developing their sweet flavour and causes them to develop a wrinkly texture.

The best way to keep them fresh is by storing them at room temperature and away from sunlight.

You can place them in a cooler spot in your kitchen if they are very ripe, but you should pretty much avoid the fridge at all costs.

Tomatoes can typically last up to two weeks when stored correctly.

A pack of tomatoes usually costs around £1, with six classic round tomatoes selling for 95p in Tesco and a family pack from Aldi costing £1.29.

If you bought tomatoes every week you would spend approximately £52 a year – whereas if you did this every two weeks you’d spend £26.

It also helps not to cut open a tomato unless you plan to use the whole thing, as exposing it to air can cause it to expire quickly.

Plumbworld recommended: “If you’ve got a batch of tomatoes that are almost too ripe, make them into a sauce or soup straight away.”

This will mean you don’t have to throw anything out and provide you with meals for the week.

Potatoes

According to Plumbworld potatoes are best stored in a cool, dark and dry place – like a pantry or cellar.

The expert said this was because: “Storing potatoes in the fridge can cause their starch to turn into sugar more quickly.”

This causes them to develop a dark colour and an overly sweet and gritty texture.

You should also make sure you put them in a breathable bag (such as a paper or mesh) to prevent any moisture building up causing them to sprout.

A bag of potatoes typically lasts one to two months and costs £1.35 for 2KG in Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

But left in the fridge they last only one to two weeks, according to Eatingwell.com.

Onions

Plumbworld warned that onions tend to absorb moisture which means they easily become mushy and mouldy in the fridge.

It said: “To keep onions fresh and crunchy, store them in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area.”

The expert also warned not to store them near potatoes as the gases and moisture they release can cause each other to spoil.

Onions stored correctly in a cool dry place typically last two to three months.

And according to Allrecipes.com they can last up to eight months in the freezer.

You can buy 1KG of brown onions from Aldi for 99p and 1KG of red onions for 71p in Lidl.

This makes it a cheap option for your dinners, but doesn’t also mean you shouldn’t also save each week where you can.

Garlic

A garlic can cost as little as 24p in Sainsbury’s and will last up to six months.

However the moist environment of the fridge can cause garlic to sprout, develop mould or become rubbery, according to Plumbworld.

The expert recommended: “The best way to store garlic is in a cool, dark place with good air circulation.

“A dry spot in your pantry or a garlic keeper works well to maintain its flavour and texture for longer.”

A garlic keeper is a pot which allows airflow and provides the perfect conditions for storage.

You can buy one from Dunelm for £8 or Amazon for £9 – which is more expensive than just finding a cool place but can also be a stylish addition to your kitchen.

Bread

Keeping your bread fresh in the fridge might seem like a good idea, but Plumbworld said this isn’t the case.

It said: “The reality is that cold temperatures cause bread to go stale much faster.

“The fridge accelerates the process of starch crystallisation, which dries out the bread and makes it tough and hard.”

Instead the expert recommended storing bread at room temperature in a bread box or a paper bag to maintain its softness.

It also recommended freezing bread if you have more than you can eat within the few days of its life-span.

It said: “The freezer will preserve its freshness without the texture changes caused by refrigeration.”

A bread bin is a useful investments and costs £15 in Tesco – which over the year would save you money on bread waste.

According to the charity Love Food Hate Waste, UK households waste approximately 20 million slices (equivalent to around one million large loaves) of bread every day.

Other ways to keep your food fresh for longer

These aren’t the only foods which can be stored efficiently.

Plumbworld also recommended: “To avoid waste, try creating a rotation system for all room-temperature foods.

“Keep newer items behind older ones so you use up what’s ripest first.”

In August The Sun wrote an article on the best ways to store food according to Robert Morris, managing director of food safety consultants, Complete Food Safety.

Salad items (besides tomatoes) should be kept in the drawer at the bottom of your fridge.

Whereas anything which grows in soil is more susceptible to bacteria so should be kept separate from salad ingredients.

Meanwhile it always helps to keep food in its supermarket packaging before you use it to keep it thriving for longer.

And placing certain foods in zip lock bags or wrapping up the end of a cucumber will prevent it from spoiling due to contaminated air.

To learn more tips read the article here.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Quilter has published record quarterly platform net inflows of £1.5bn, which represents 7% of opening assets.

The firm’s latest results, published today (16 October), show group assets under management and administration (AUMA) rose to £116.2bn at the end of September.

This was up from £101.4bn during the same period last year.

The high-net-worth segment of Quilter’s business saw significantly improved quarterly net inflows of £284m, the highest level since the third quarter of 2021.

The affluent segment of Quilter’s business also performed well, recording year-on-year increases in gross inflows of 50% to £3.3bn, from £2.2bn in 2023.

Meanwhile, IFA channel gross inflows onto the platform increased by 76% year-on-year.

In its results, Quilter also said it expected to be able to give an update on its ongoing advice review in early 2025.

It conducted an independent review in June after it was one of the 20 firms the FCA wrote to.

Quilter chief executive officer Steven Levin praised the firm’s excellent performance in “what is traditionally the slower summer quarter”.

However, he added: “While we look to the future with confidence, the upcoming UK Budget has introduced an unwelcome degree of uncertainty to the market.”

Levin said any meaningful changes proposed to the structure of UK pensions and savings should only be implemented after industry-wide consultation.

AN independent review brings fresh hope for thousands of carers forced to repay up to £20,000 worth of benefit payments.

Households on carer’s allowance continue to face substantial repayment demands after exceeding a critical weekly earnings limit.

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Figures in August revealed that over 134,500 unpaid carers are collectively repaying £251million in benefit overpayments.

The Sun has previously highlighted cases where some individuals were required to repay up to £20,000 after unknowingly breaching carer’s allowance rules.

In an effort to reform the system and prevent more people from being caught out, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiated an independent review on the matter today.

Carer’s allowance is paid to those providing at least 35 hours of unpaid care a week, in most cases to disabled or sick relatives.

It is currently paid at a weekly rate of £81.90, and anyone on the benefit can earn a second income from a job.

However, you can’t earn more than £151 a week, or you’ll lose all of your benefit allowance.

This is a different approach to other benefits, like Universal Credit, which has a tapered approach to earnings so that those working don’t lose all their money at once.

The DWP, which pays the benefit, also looks to get any overpaid benefits back.

So, if you breach the £151 a week “cliff edge”, you’ll also be forced to repay any carer’s allowance payments you’ve been issued.

But in some cases, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) systems don’t flag earnings limit breaches for several years, seeing people overpaid massive sums that must be repaid.

In response to the overwhelming number of repayment demands issued to claimants, the DWP’s independent review, in collaboration with the former chief executive of Disability Rights UK, aims to investigate the causes and mechanisms behind the overpayments.

It will then recommend “operational changes” to minimise the risk of future overpayments and outline how the DWP can best support those affected by overpayment issues.

Commenting on the launch of the review Liz Kendall, work and pensions secretary, said: “I have been a lifelong champion of family carers and know many have been pushed to breaking point looking after the people they love.

“This is not okay. We’re determined to learn lessons and put this right.”

Liz Sayce, chair of the review and former chief executive of Disability Rights UK, added: “My work aims to get to the bottom of how overpayments have occurred and how to prevent people who devote such time and care to others facing these difficulties in future.”

The outcome of the review will be published in due course, but for now, anyone hit with a repayment demand will still need to pay up.

A recent Sun Money investigation revealed that thousands of people on other benefits have been hit with repayment demands even though they do not owe a penny.

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

According to the government, as of May 2024, there are 134,800 people with an outstanding carer’s allowance debt – a total value of £251m.

Carers reported receiving overpayments between £150 and £20,000, with the average overpayment being £4,000.  

There’s no time limit on how far back the DWP can go to spot erroneous carer’s allowance payments and demand money back.

Karina Moon, 62, is just one example of the thousands asked to repay the benefit.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told the single mother of one from North Wales that she must repay £11,292.75 of her carer’s allowance or face fraud charges.

In another shocking case, a father who looks after his ill son had to sell his home to pay back £20,000 in carer’s allowance.

George Henderson, 64, from Leyland in Lancashire, was told he would have to repay the eye-watering sum due to a mistake he made when first applying for the benefit.

Henderson wrongly ticked a box saying he was unemployed when, in fact, he was earning £7.50 an hour as a self-employed taxi driver.

However, the DWP failed to notify Henderson, blaming it his responsibility to notify the department of any changes in circumstances.

DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT

If you breach the £151 earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances.

You can report any change in circumstances online via the government’s website.

But you’ll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you’re caring for and details of the change.

If you have been overpaid carer’s allowance, you must pay it back in full or in instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform.

This is also on the Government’s website.

If you don’t do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary or even pass your case on to a debt collector.

If you don’t engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts.

You can dispute an overpayment if you disagree with it, but you’ll need evidence as to why you claim not to have overpaid.

You can do this through what’s known as a “mandatory reconsideration,” which you can submit to the DWP online, by phone, or by letter.

The decision letter you receive from the DWP will contain the specific contact details to which you must send correspondence.

Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a “mandatory reconsideration notice” informing you whether it has changed its decision.

If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.

A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.