1. By: Kayla Kopp Science Fair Biology, Period 3
Perfect Produce
By: Kayla Kopp
Science Fair
Biology, Period 3

2. Big Question:
My big question for my experiment is: “Do Debbie Meyer Green Bags prolong the life of fruits and vegetables?”

3. Hypothesis:
My hypothesis is if produce is placed in Debbie Meyer Green Bags, then they will prolong the life of produce. The green bags will lengthen the life of the produce because the bags absorb and release ethylene gas.

4. Interesting Facts: Bags are reusable 8 to 10 times
Active ingredient is a natural mineral called Oya
Debbie Meyer Green Bags used to be called Evert Fresh Green Bags.
Debbie Meyer Green Bags are available at
Wal-Mart for $9.99

5. Experiment: Materials: 1 package of Debbie Meyer Green Bags 2 Avocados
2 Bananas
2 Lettuce Heads
2 Red Peppers
2 Spinach Bags
2 Tomatoes
Refrigerator
Counter
Camera

6. Procedures: Control/Variable:
Step 1: Purchase materials at store including: 2 avocados, 2 bananas, 2 lettuce heads, 2 red peppers, 2 spinach bags, 2 tomatoes, 1 package of Debbie Meyer Green Bags. (Make sure produce is of identical quality)
Step 2: Place each one of the fruits and or vegetables in a Debbie Meyer Green Bag and place on counter or in refrigerator. Make sure the produce in a bag and out of a bag sit beside each other.
Step 3: Monitor fruits and vegetables daily and record data. Take pictures every 3 days to determine the quality of the produce.
Step 4: At the end of 2 weeks time period dray conclusions based on results gathered.
Control/Variable:
My control group was the produce without Green Bags and my variable group was the produce with Green Bags

7. Observations:
The start of my experiment
10/22/09

8. Avocado Top Left Avocado Middle Avocado Top Right Avocado
First Day Last Day (13th day) th day
10/22/ /3/ /31/09

9. Banana Top Left Banana Middle Banana Top Right Banana
First Day Last Day (13th day) th day
10/22/ /3/ /31/09

10. Tomato Top Left Tomato Middle Tomato Top Right Tomato
First Day Last Day (15th day) th day
10/22/ /5/ /31/09

11. Lettuce Top Left Lettuce Middle Lettuce Top Right Lettuce
First Day Last Day (17th day) th day
10/22/ /6/ /31/09

12. Red Pepper Top Left Red Pepper Middle Red Pepper Top Right Red Pepper
First Day Last Day (13th day) th day
10/22/ /3/ /31/09

13. Spinach Top Left Spinach Middle Spinach Top Right Spinach
First Day Last Day (14th day) th day
10/22/ /4/ /31/09

14. Data:

15. Analysis of Data:
For most of the produce the green bags helped prolong the life. But for the avocado, the green bags did not work. It was misleading because it felt fine but when cut open it was moldy and inedible. For the banana with a bag it hardly had any brown spots, compared to the banana without a bag that was completely brown. For the rest of the produce the green bags helped, but didn’t really increase the life of the produce that long. Even though my data said it was edible, it still wouldn’t have been very appealing to eat.

16. Conclusion:
My hypothesis can be described as right and wrong. For some of the produce like the banana, lettuce, and red pepper the green bags did help prolong the life and keep the produce looking fresher. But for the other produce like the avocado, spinach, and tomato the green bags either didn’t work or made the produce rot faster. For most cases the green bags did work but in other cases they did not. A new question I have is:" Why does only some produce work in Debbie Meyer Green Bags.”

17. References: Internet:
Book:
“Environmentally friendly technologies for agricultural produce quality” By Shimshon Ben-Yenoshua