I asked experts if brown avocado is still safe to eat

Avocados are an absolute breakfast and lunch staple, not just here in the UK but all over the world. They’re a brilliant source of healthy fats and so versatile too, not to mention they taste delicious.

Like many other people, I always make sure to pick up an avocado or two when I’m doing the weekly shop. After years of buying them, I like to think I’m pretty good at telling which ones are going to be ripe when I take them home and eventually eat them. But storing them is the problem, as I’ll often only eat half at a time, returning the next day to find the remaining avocado covered in brown spots.

Depending on how bad it looks, I’ll often just scrape off the brown bits and continue to eat the rest of the avocado. They aren’t cheap, and I’d like to get my money’s worth. But recently I’ve been wondering if this is actually safe, or if I’m putting myself at risk of illness.

So I decided to ask some experts to find out once and for all – and they all had the same advice for me.

Destini Moody, a dietician at Flex Therapists explained to me why avocados turn brown in the first place – and assured that it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re unsafe to eat.

She said: “Many people assume that an avocado has gone bad as soon as it turns brown, but that is not always the case.

“As a registered dietitian, I can explain that once an avocado is cut open and exposed to air, it begins to turn brown. This is a normal process called oxidation. The same thing happens when a sliced apple is left out for a while.

“If only the surface of the avocado flesh is brown, it is usually still safe to eat. You can scrape away the brown layer and eat the rest, or mix the brown part into the green flesh. It may not look as appealing or taste as fresh, but the browning itself is not normally a food safety problem.”

This was echoed by Melissa Jaegar, head of nutrition at My Fitness Pal, who said that although it can look ‘alarming’, people shouldn’t be put off. She noted: “It’s a surface reaction and the green flesh underneath is perfectly fine to eat. Interestingly, much of the aversion appears to be psychological with most people noting very little difference in taste if they can’t see the colour change. So don’t let the look of a browned avocado send it to the bin.”

Just to really put my mind (and others) at ease, Vassiliki Sinopoulou, Registered Dietitian and Lecturer in Evidence Synthesis at the University of Lancashire, confirmed there aren’t any health risks associated with consuming brown avocados.

However, she also warned that eating spoiled avocados is a different story. She explained: “If an avocado has been left out or stored for too long, it may begin to spoil.

“Signs of spoilage include a bad smell, mould, excessive softness, or a slimy texture. In those cases, it should be discarded, as spoiled food can cause gastrointestinal illness.”

How to keep avocados fresh

While the experts all agreed that it was fine to simply scrape off any browning bits of avocado, I wanted to find out the best ways to preserve the fruits and keep them looking and tasting their best – even when they’ve already been cut open.

Again, many of the experts had the same suggestions – and it seems like lemon or lime juice is the secret weapon here.

Gabriela Peacock, nutritionist, longevity expert and founder of GP Nutrition said: “To keep avocados fresher for longer, try storing any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Adding a squeeze of lemon or lime juice can also help slow down the browning process.”

Creating a barrier can also work well, according to Carly Campbell from Bite Sized Bash. She recommended brushing it with olive oil, or covering it with plastic wrap and keeping in the fridge, making sure to keep the pit in the middle.

So, before you surrender another brown avocado to the bin, try to scrape off the affected pieces – and if it’s still green underneath, you’re good to go.