{"id":907898,"date":"2026-09-27T23:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T23:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/907898\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T23:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T23:24:14","slug":"coles-woolies-aldi-or-iga-which-supermarkets-baby-spinach-bag-lasted-the-longest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/907898\/","title":{"rendered":"Coles, Woolies, Aldi, or IGA: Which supermarket\u2019s baby spinach bag lasted the longest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As spring produce fills <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/money\/australian-supermarket-grocery-prices-20260925-p610dp.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">supermarket shelves<\/a>, shoppers face a familiar cost-of-living dilemma: finding fresh fruit and vegetables that don\u2019t spoil days after you bring them home.<\/p>\n<p>To find out which major retailer delivers the best quality for your dollar, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choice.com.au\/shopping\/everyday-shopping\/supermarkets\/articles\/cheapest-groceries-australia\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\">consumer advocacy group Choice<\/a> put one of the most notoriously fragile greens to the ultimate test \u2013 baby spinach.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"fresh young spinach leaves in a sieve on a table\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/530f5db8ec23f6a832ba10dcb2762d38e9b734cc.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Baby spinach is notoriously delicate. So which supermarket\u2019s bag lasted the longest?\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n<p>Its peak season in Australia is typically May to October, although it is usually available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/money\/supermarket-shopping-basket-unique-feature-20260923-p60zn5.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">year-round in supermarkets<\/a> due to greenhouse growing and warm northern climates.<\/p>\n<p>To test the freshness of baby spinach from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/food\/coles-woolworths-cut-up-roast-chicken-portions-half-quarter-20260922-p60z4e.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and IGA<\/a>, testers purchased bags across major chains and kept them refrigerated for two days before assessing their condition. <\/p>\n<p>Leaves were rated on crispness versus signs of decay, such as a slimy texture, limp appearance, or unpleasant odour. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/32eecb7396ee42c346ce7d41a20d2f430fc571b76d382be4d74c20b75d089485.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">The popular product was tested across all four major grocery retailers.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n<p>Out of 91 samples surveyed across the country, clear winners emerged.<\/p>\n<p>Aldi took out the top spot for freshness, with 70 per cent of the leaves in the bag remaining completely fresh for two days. In second place was Coles, with 62 per cent.<\/p>\n<p>IGA placed third with a 62 per cent rating, followed by Woolworths, which recorded only a 38 per cent freshness rating.<\/p>\n<p>On a positive note for consumers, Choice reported that no supermarket logged samples where more than half the bag had spoiled after the two-day period.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/61d2c6a05a9e54e6fc57dfb382ef13cb150183ff799ea00e32318b72174dd9d4.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Aldi took out the top spot for freshness, with Coles placing second.\u00a0Choice <\/p>\n<p>How to save on fresh produce this spring<\/p>\n<p>With grocery prices remaining a major headache for Australian households, shoppers are increasingly balancing checkout costs against product shelf life to cut down on food waste.<\/p>\n<p>Industry experts say sticking to seasonal staples is still the single best way to keep bills down. <\/p>\n<p>Anton van den Berg from fruit and vegetable distributor Box Divvy notes spring crops like asparagus and potatoes are currently in abundance, making them among the most affordable options in the produce aisle.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/09c7854bba009bb44a6508082239866b4cb92c311a93fcb386b1b2cd2875da08.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Shoppers have reported freshness concerns when purchasing the cheapest produce.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/56d9c1f8c722964cc3d1cf3309dea5b76b9572835c0552ccf0782bea4b7dc867.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Buying in season and switching to frozen help Aussie shoppers save.\u00a0Jo Abi<\/p>\n<p>However, shoppers hunting for early-season treats like mangoes may want to hold off, while initial shipments arrive through September and October, peak supply and lower prices don\u2019t kick in until November through February.<\/p>\n<p>For items currently out of season, shoppers continue to report that turning to frozen fruits and vegetables offers the best value without compromising on nutrition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As spring produce fills supermarket shelves, shoppers face a familiar cost-of-living dilemma: finding fresh fruit and vegetables that&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":907899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-907898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}