How CBD could keep fruit and veg fresher for longer

Researchers in the US think they have found a new – unexpected – use for CBD oil, extending the shelf-life of strawberries.

We all know that eating fruit and vegetables is good for you, but can often be put off exploring more berry-based options due to their tendency to quickly grow mould and turn into mush.

Researchers at the University of South Florida appear to have found a way to extend shelf life using CBD oil.

Already advocated by many to ease and relieve a range of issues – from period pain and muscle inflammation to anxiety and depression – CBD is now being sought as a solution for fruit preservation, strawberries to be more precise.

The study, which is due to be published soon, tested the antimicrobial effects of CBD by adding the oil to freshly harvested strawberries to see if it would keep the berries fresher for longer.

Not only did researchers discover that the shelf life of the treated fruit was extended further than the untreated test group, but that there was also significant reduction in the microbial load that these fruits carried, resulting in less mould and yeast production, too.

While you may be wondering if an added effect to this CBD coating is the feeling of ingesting a cannabis edible, this is not the case. While its origins lie in the plant, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a chemical found in the plant and unlike other compounds such as THC, won’t cause cannabis’s characteristic high.

It has been known for some time that CBD contains antimicrobial properties, however research has been limited to using it for preservation purposes. These researchers were looking to see if the solution would be effective as an at home treatment that consumers could use themselves to extend the shelf life of the red fruit.

This was tested using a control and test group in two temperatures – one at 1 °C (33.8 °F) and the other at 10 °C (50 °F), leaving them for eight days. After this time, the fruit was evaluated on appearance and microbial load.

When compared, the strawberries that had been doused in CBD oil were found to have a better visual appearance of quality and had a lower microbial load, meaning they did not grow mould or yeast.

Researchers concluded: “Results from this study showed that CBD oil was effective at maintaining the visual appearance of strawberries…compared to the fruit that was not treated.

“This research shows that CBD oil has the potential to be used by consumers at home as an effective antimicrobial treatment and to extend strawberry shelf life.”

But before you douse your strawberries in cannabidiol when you return from the supermarket, it’s important to consider your own personal circumstances, and any other medications you are on, before consuming CBD products.