Piled excessive with pizza, bulging with burgers and match to burst with doughnuts, sweets and crisps, it seems like a fast-food fantasy.
But the cabinet in Leyla Kandemir’s kitchen is something however appetising.
For each single merchandise in her assortment — fondly dubbed ‘Mum’s Museum’ by her two kids and husband Murat — is no less than 12 months previous.
Comprising burgers and chips from McDonald’s, Greggs sausage rolls, Domino’s pizza, and pastries, bread and buns from her native Tesco, a few of these ‘Frankenfoods’ date again to April 2019 and are a part of a groundbreaking experiment.
Not solely do they appear like they’ve did not decay, regardless of being saved in a easy kitchen cabinet, all of them seem nearly equivalent to the day she purchased them.
Leyla, 53, a psychotherapist and nutritionist from Colchester, Essex, makes use of her assortment to indicate shoppers the hazards of consuming ultra-processed meals pumped stuffed with a lot salt, sugar, chemical substances and preservatives that they by no means go off.
Final week her work went viral after her daughter Elif, 21, uploaded a video of the cabinet to social media platform TikTok, the place it has now been considered greater than 4 million instances.
Pictured: The varied meals saved by Leyla Kandemir, who makes use of her assortment to indicate shoppers the hazards of consuming ultra-processed meals pumped stuffed with a lot salt, sugar, chemical substances and preservatives that they by no means go off
‘My household thought I used to be mad, maintaining all these items,’ says Leyla. ‘Initially, the children had been disgusted by it, and my mates had been fairly shocked. Even I have been astonished by how lengthy it is all lasted.’
Most ultra-processed foodstuffs are preserved by very excessive ranges of sugar and salt, in addition to cooking processes that contain extracting water, which makes them much less liable to rot.
Some meals in Leyla’s cabinet — resembling biscuits, whose important element is glucose-fructose syrup — even have preservative components designed to increase their shelf life, a few of which may have in poor health results on our well being, inflicting upset stomachs, irritating the eyes, and aggravating delicate pores and skin.
Leyla re-trained as a marketing consultant for the weight-loss business after leaving instructing in 2012.
‘I used to be bulimic in my late 20s and early 30s, so weight loss plan and portion management has at all times me,’ she says. ‘As my work went on, I seen a connection between over-eating, emotional consuming and psychological issues.’
She enrolled in a psychotherapy diploma on the Open College in 2016, adopted by a collection of {qualifications} in diet.
Pictured: Nutritionist Leyla Kandemir and her meals cabinet of processed meals that she retains to indicate shoppers the hazards of consuming ultra-processed meals
‘We’re Turkish so we are inclined to have a wholesome, Mediterranean weight loss plan,’ Leyla says. ‘We by no means have biscuits in the home and my kids do not eat cereal. However we take pleasure in pizza or a takeaway now and again.’
Her unorthodox experiment began in April 2019 when she was cleansing her son’s bed room and located the remnants of a three-day-old pizza beneath his mattress. ‘I could not consider it hadn’t gone off over the weekend, so I made a decision to maintain just a few slices and see what would occur,’ she says.
‘A month later, it nonetheless regarded precisely the identical. Nothing had gone mouldy, not even the cheese or meats on prime.’
In August that yr, Leyla expanded her experiment, stocking up on as many takeaway meals as she might carry.
She emptied a floor-to-ceiling cabinet within the kitchen, fitted it with sliding Tupperware drawers and crammed them with the cooked burgers, chips and rooster nuggets. Earlier than storing every merchandise away, she unwrapped it and let it cool to room temperature.
Two years and 4 months later, the unique pizza slices are nonetheless there, apparently unchanged.
This time final yr, as she realized extra about processed grocery store meals, Leyla added a stash of breads, pastries, doughnuts, crisps, biscuits and sweets. Twelve months on, not one reveals any signal of decay.
Comprising burgers and chips from McDonald’s, Greggs sausage rolls, Domino’s pizza, and pastries, bread and buns from her native Tesco, a few of these ‘Frankenfoods’ date again to April 2019 and are a part of a groundbreaking experiment
Final week, Leyla’s work went viral after her daughter Elif, 21, uploaded a video of the cabinet to social media platform TikTok, the place it has now been considered greater than 4 million instances
The meals are taken out and decanted on to plates a few times every week to indicate Leyla’s shoppers, earlier than being rigorously put away of their allotted drawers. Astonishingly, the cabinet — within the household kitchen — does not odor.
Virtually all the pieces Leyla has collected has remained intact, except some custard-filled doughnuts, a loaf of natural bread and KFC rooster items, all of which did rot after a few days.
Her plan is to maintain the remainder ‘for ever’. ‘I need to go into faculties and educate kids in regards to the risks of processed meals like these,’ she says. ‘It is not actual meals. And but for a giant chunk of the British inhabitants, it makes up 80 per cent of their weight loss plan.’
Specialists are more and more satisfied that ultra-processed meals like these may be linked to meals dependancy, hormonal shifts and elementary modifications to the make-up of our brains.
Dr Primrose Freestone, affiliate professor in medical microbiology at Leicester College, will not be shocked by the ‘pure mummification’ of Leyla’s meals.
Pictured: A plate with a choice of the meals saved by nutritionist Leyla Kandemir. Most ultra-processed foodstuffs are preserved by very excessive ranges of sugar and salt, in addition to cooking processes that contain extracting water, which makes them much less liable to rot
‘The excessive salt and sugar content material, fats ranges and low water ranges all act as preservatives,’ she says. ‘Plus the plastic packing containers would exclude each air and decomposing airborne fungi and micro organism.
‘Simply because there isn’t any inexperienced mould doesn’t imply that microbial decomposition, mixed with chemical modifications, will not be occurring — or that the meals is fit for human consumption. Invisible ranges of micro organism could make you very sick.’
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, of Studying College, agrees. ‘They’re most likely stale and probably rancid. It is tougher to say whether or not they’re secure to devour. Some may be however, personally, I would not strive.’
The Mail performed a collection of experiments on Leyla’s meals. The outcomes are assured to place you off your lunch . . .
DOMINO’S MEAT FEAST PIZZA
Domino’s Meat Feast Pizza, 2 years and 4 months previous
2 years, 4 months previous
LOOKS: Remarkably edible. Dried out however nonetheless appears like a slice of pizza you’d fortunately tuck into after an evening out.
SMELLS: Stale however meaty. Bacon has a salty whiff however sausage items odor acidic and rancid.
FEELS: The crust is rock-solid, whereas the toppings are squidgy.
BACTERIA COUNT: I examined all of the meals by inserting a small pattern of every in take a look at tubes containing chemical substances that react to the presence of E.coli micro organism by altering color.
This confirmed that the pizza had a low rely (0.5 CFU) of E.coli, which in higher portions could cause extreme belly cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Domino’s didn’t reply to requests for remark.
VERDICT: Because the oldest merchandise in Leyla’s assortment, it is a particular no-no. Total it’s totally off-putting.
BURGER KING CHICKEN FRIES
2 years previous
LOOKS: Whereas the coating is golden brown, the rooster inside has turned gray and shrivelled to a fraction of its former measurement.
SMELLS: Spicy and salty, prefer it’s been drenched in synthetic seasoning.
FEELS: So stable I nearly break the knife when attempting to chop some off.
Burger King Hen Fries, 2 years previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Excessive (1.5 CFU). This confirmed the very best micro organism rely of the lot, with loads of E.coli lurking — a transparent indicator that they’ve gone off.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Burger King didn’t reply to requests for remark.
VERDICT: Distinctly unappealing —and probably poisonous. There wasn’t a lot rooster in these stringy ‘fries’ to start with, however all semblance of meat has gone after two years of mummification.
McDONALD’S CHIPS
2 years previous
LOOKS: They’ve held their form and color however look deflated, as if the potato has began to disintegrate.
SMELLS: Stale, greasy and unappetising.
FEELS: Extremely oily. Leyla says she recurrently has to decant the fats that continues to seep from the chips, and my fingers are coated in oil after I choose up a handful.
McDonald’s Chips, 2 years previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). There is no meat or dairy, so I would not count on micro organism to fester on these chips, however there’s nonetheless a big quantity.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: In its solely touch upon the topic thus far, McDonald’s says: ‘In the fitting surroundings, our burgers, like most different meals, might decompose.
‘However, in an effort to decompose, you want sure situations — particularly moisture. With out adequate moisture, micro organism and mold could not develop and due to this fact decomposition is unlikely.’
VERDICT: They won’t make me sick, however these chips — excessive in fats, salt and sugar — are a major instance of why quick meals do not decay. Yuck!
TESCO ICED RING DOUGHNUT
1 yr previous
LOOKS: The icing and sprinkles have gone soggy and are melting into each other, however saved their luminous color. The doughnut beneath appears contemporary.
SMELLS: Nauseatingly candy. But it surely most likely smelled very comparable when it was bought.
FEELS: The dough is difficult and crumbly, whereas the glaze on prime is cheesy.
Tesco Iced Ring Doughnut, 1 yr previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Low-medium (0.75 CFU). The pattern reveals a small presence of E.coli micro organism on the year-old doughnut.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Tesco declined to remark however doesn’t suggest prospects devour merchandise which have handed their ‘use by’ date for security causes.
VERDICT: Because it’s candy quite than savoury, this is not as stomach-churning as a few of the different foodstuffs, and I do not assume consuming it could make me in poor health.
McDONALD’S QUARTER POUNDER WITH CHEESE
2 years previous
LOOKS: Whereas the bun appears stale, the burger inside appears freshly cooked. Even the cheese seems waxy, as if it is simply been melted.
SMELLS: Weirdly, it is utterly odourless.
FEELS: Strong and cardboardy. Burger is flaky quite than moist.
McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese, 2 years previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). Not as excessive as I might feared, given the presence of meat. It appears to have dried out over two years, quite than rotting — though I nonetheless would not courageous a chew.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: As earlier McDonald’s remark.
VERDICT: The oldest McDonald’s burger nonetheless in existence is alleged thus far from 1999, so that is no shock. Nonetheless, the dearth of decay is startling — and the micro organism rely makes me really feel fairly sick.
WALKERS MAX FLAME GRILLED STEAK CRISPS
1 yr previous
LOOKS: Like they’ve simply been tipped out of a sealed packet. They’ve saved their ridges and the coating — salt and orange seasoning — continues to be seen.
SMELLS: There is a faint whiff of one thing meaty.
FEELS: They’ve misplaced their crunch and are as a substitute slimy with grease.
Walkers Max Flame Grilled Steak Crisps, 1 yr previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Low (0.5 CFU). The pattern confirmed solely a small quantity of micro organism on the crisps.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: ‘All Walkers potato crisps are preservative-free . . . The frying course of makes our crisps very low in moisture, which suggests they’re unlikely to decompose.
‘Nevertheless, if left in an unsealed container for an extended time period, the crisps would develop into smooth and off, which might make them very disagreeable to eat.’
VERDICT: These have misplaced all their crispiness and develop into soggy potato slices, overly-seasoned. Saying that, one or two most likely would not do me any hurt.
GREGGS SAUSAGE ROLL
1 yr previous
LOOKS: Freshly baked. The pastry is crisp and golden and flakes off in my fingers.
SMELLS: The pastry has no aroma however the sausage inside — now shrivelled to half its measurement — smells unpleasantly candy and malty.
FEELS: Strong throughout. It is heavy, too.
Greggs Sausage Roll, 1 yr previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). The thick pastry coating appears to have stopped the meat from decaying an excessive amount of, but it surely’s nonetheless not going wherever close to my plate.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Greggs declined to remark.
VERDICT: I am a sucker for a sausage roll however this may make me assume twice.
McVITIE’S JAFFA CAKES
1 yr previous
LOOKS: The chocolate is dry with white spots on prime. The orange jelly layer inside has all however disappeared.
SMELLS: That scrumptious darkish chocolatey aroma has been changed with a synthetic, barely bitter tang, like gone-off milk.
FEELS: The biscuit is so dry it is powdery and falls to items in my fingers.
McVitie’s Jaffa Truffles, 1 yr previous
BACTERIA COUNT: Low-medium (0.75 CFU), so not as bacteria-ridden as a few of the different samples, however surprisingly excessive for a candy product.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: McVitie’s didn’t reply to requests for remark.
VERDICT: All of the elements of a Jaffa Cake are nonetheless there, however not in a great way. The biscuit base appears like reconstituted mud.
Source link