Can YOU °ÌÃÖ¡¿±øÅÀ¡¿¸«¤Ä¤±½Ð¤¹ what's Ⱦüʪ about this buffet? ALL of this food is more than 12 months old. And because it's ultra-²áÄød, Èó¡¤ÉÔ¡¤Ìµ of it is rotten. Now the nutritionist behind this Î䵤¡¿´¨¤¬¤é¤»¤ëing picture wants you to know some unpalatable truths
Piled high with pizza, bulging with burgers and fit to burst with doughnuts, ´Å¤¤s and crisps, it sounds like a µÞ®¤Ê¡¿ÊüÆ¢¤Ê-food fantasy.
Yet the cupboard in Leyla Kandemir's kitchen is anything but appetising.
For every Áª¤Ó½Ð¤¹¡¿ÆÈ¿È item in her collection ¡½ ¾ð°¦¿¼¤¯ dubbed 'Mum's Museum' by her two children and husband Murat ¡½ is at least 12 months old.
¹½À®¤¹¤ëing burgers and ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs from McDonald's, Greggs sausage rolls, »ÙÇÛ's pizza, and pastries, bread and buns from her Ãϸµ¤Î Tesco, some of these 'Frankenfoods' date »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë to April 2019 and are part of a groundbreaking ¼Â¸³.
Not only do they look like they have failed to decay, ¤Ë¤â¤«¤«¤ï¤é¤º ¸ºß Ãߤ¨¤ë¡¿Å¹d in a simple kitchen cupboard, they all appear almost Ʊ°ì¤Î to the day she bought them.
Leyla, 53, a psychotherapist and nutritionist from Colchester, Essex, uses her collection to show ¡ÊÊÛ¸î»Î¤Î¡Ë°ÍÍê¿Ís the dangers of eating ultra-²áÄød foods pumped ½½Ê¬¤Ê of so much salt, sugar, ²½³ØÀ½ÉÊs and preservatives that they never go off.
Last week her work went viral after her daughter Elif, 21, uploaded a ¥Ó¥Ç¥ª of the cupboard to social ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß ÃÅ¡¦¹ËÎΡ¦¸øÌó TikTok, where it has now been ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ëd more than four million times.
Pictured: The ¤µ¤Þ¤¶¤Þ¤Ê food Ãߤ¨¤ë¡¿Å¹d by?Leyla Kandemir, who?uses her collection to show ¡ÊÊÛ¸î»Î¤Î¡Ë°ÍÍê¿Ís the dangers of eating ultra-²áÄød foods pumped ½½Ê¬¤Ê of so much salt, sugar, ²½³ØÀ½ÉÊs and preservatives that they never go off
'My family thought I was mad, keeping all this stuff,' says Leyla. 'ºÇ½é, the kids were disgusted by it, and my friends were ¤ä¤á¤ë shocked. Even I've been astonished by how long it's all lasted.'
Most ultra-²áÄød foodstuffs are Êݸ¤¹¤ëd by very high levels of sugar and salt, ƱÍÍ¤Ë as cooking ²áÄøs that ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ë Ãê½Ð¤¹¤ëing water, which makes them ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ ·¹¸þ¤¬¤¢¤ë to rot.
Some food in Leyla's cupboard ¡½ such as Çö¾Æ¤¥Ñ¥ó¡¿ÁǾÆÆ«´ïs, whose main ¹½À®Í×ÁÇ is glucose-fructose syrup ¡½ also have preservative À®Ê¬s designed to ±äŤ¹¤ë their shelf life, some of which can have ill ±Æ¶Ás on our health, ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ëing upset stomachs, irritating the ÃíÌܤ¹¤ë¡¤¤â¤¯¤í¤às, and °²½¤µ¤»¤ëing ¶ËÅ٤οµ½Å¤µ¤òÍפ¹¤ë È©.
Leyla re-trained as a ¸ÜÌä for the Éé¤ï¤»¤ë-loss »º¶È after leaving teaching in 2012.
'I was bulimic in my late 20s and Áá´ü¤Ë 30s, so diet and Éôʬ »ÙÇۡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÅýÀ©¤¹¤ë has always Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£d me,' she says. 'As my work went on, I noticed a ´Ø·¸ between over-eating, emotional eating and psychological problems.'
She Æþ²ñ¤µ¤»¤ëd in a psychotherapy degree at the Open University in 2016, followed by a °ìÏ¢¤Î »ñ³Ês in ±ÉÍÜ.
Pictured: Nutritionist Leyla Kandemir and her food cupboard of ²áÄød food that she keeps to show ¡ÊÊÛ¸î»Î¤Î¡Ë°ÍÍê¿Ís the dangers of eating ultra-²áÄød foods
'We're Turkish so we tend to have a healthy, Mediterranean diet,' Leyla says. 'We never have Çö¾Æ¤¥Ñ¥ó¡¿ÁǾÆÆ«´ïs in the house and my children don't eat cereal. But we indulge in pizza or a takeaway from time to time.'
Her unorthodox ¼Â¸³ started in April 2019 when she was ¤¤ì¤¤¤Ë¤¹¤ë her son's bedroom and ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë the »Ä;s of a three-day-old pizza under his bed. 'I couldn't believe it hadn't gone off over the ½µËö, so I decided to keep a few slices and see what would happen,' she says.?
'A month later, it still looked Àµ³Î¤Ë¡¿¤Þ¤µ¤Ë the same. Nothing had gone mouldy, not even the cheese or meats on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹.'
In August that year, Leyla ³ÈÂ礹¤ëd her ¼Â¸³, ºß¸Ë¡¿³ôing up on as many takeaway meals as she could carry.
She emptied a ¾²¤ËÂǤÁÅݤ¹-to-Å·°æ cupboard in the kitchen, fitted it with »ö¾ð¤Ë±þ¤¸¤ÆÊѤï¤ë Tupperware drawers and filled them with the cooked burgers, ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs and chicken nuggets. Before Ãߤ¨¤ë¡¿Å¹ing each item away, she unwrapped it and let it ÎäÀŤʡ¿ÀµÌ£¤Î to room µ¤²¹.
Two years and four months later, the ½é¤á¤Î pizza slices are still there, ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ë ÉÔÊѤÎ.
This time last year, as she learned more about ²áÄød supermarket foods, Leyla Äɲ乤ëd a stash of breads, pastries, doughnuts, crisps, Çö¾Æ¤¥Ñ¥ó¡¿ÁǾÆÆ«´ïs and ´Å¤¤s. Twelve months on, not one shows any Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë of decay.?
¹½À®¤¹¤ëing burgers and ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs from McDonald's, Greggs sausage rolls, »ÙÇÛ's pizza, and pastries, bread and buns from her Ãϸµ¤Î Tesco, some of these 'Frankenfoods' date »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë to April 2019 and are part of a groundbreaking ¼Â¸³
Last week, Leyla's work went viral after her daughter Elif, 21, uploaded a ¥Ó¥Ç¥ª of the cupboard to social ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß ÃÅ¡¦¹ËÎΡ¦¸øÌó TikTok, where it has now been ¸«²ò¡Ê¤ò¤È¤ë¡Ëd more than four million times
The foods are taken out and decanted on to plates once or twice a week to show Leyla's ¡ÊÊÛ¸î»Î¤Î¡Ë°ÍÍê¿Ís, before ¸ºß carefully put away in their ÇÛʬ¤¹¤ëd drawers. Astonishingly, the cupboard ¡½ in the family kitchen ¡½ doesn't smell.
Almost everything Leyla has collected has remained »¤Ê¤ï¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤Ê¤¤, with the exception of some custard-filled doughnuts, a l oaf of ͵¡¤Î bread and KFC chicken pieces, all of which did rot after a couple of days.
Her ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë is to keep the »Ä¤ê¡¿µÙ·Æ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë 'for ever'. 'I want to go into schools and educate children about the dangers of ²áÄød meals like these,' she says. 'It's not real food. And yet for a big chunk of the British Á´½»Ì±, it makes up 80 per cent of their diet.'
ÀìÌç²Ès are ¤Þ¤¹¤Þ¤¹ ǼÆÀ¤µ¤»¤ëd that ultra-²áÄød foods like these can be linked to food ÃæÆÇ, hormonal ž´¹s and º¬Äì¤È¤Ê¤ë changes to the make-up of our brains.
Dr Primrose Freestone, associate professor in Î×¾²¤Î microbiology at Leicester University, is not surprised by the 'natural mummification' of Leyla's food.
Pictured: A plate with a ÁªÂò of the food Ãߤ¨¤ë¡¿Å¹d by nutritionist Leyla Kandemir.?Most ultra-²áÄød foodstuffs are Êݸ¤¹¤ëd by very high levels of sugar and sal t, ƱÍÍ¤Ë as cooking ²áÄøs that ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ë Ãê½Ð¤¹¤ëing water, which makes them ¤¤¤Ã¤½¤¦¾¯¤Ê¤¯ ·¹¸þ¤¬¤¢¤ë to rot
'The high salt and sugar content, fat levels and low water levels all ¹Ô°Ù¡¿Ë¡Îá¡¿¹ÔÆ°¤¹¤ë as preservatives,' she says. '²Ã¤¨¤ë the plastic boxes would ½ü³°¤¹¤ë both ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë and ʬ²ò¤¹¤ëing ¶õÍ¢¤Î fungi and bacteria.
'Just because there is no green mould does not mean that microbial decomposition, Ï¢¹ç¤µ¤»¤ëd with ²½³ØÀ½ÉÊ changes, is not occurring ¡½ or that the food is °ÂÁ´¤Ê to eat. Invisible levels of bacteria can make you very sick.'
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, of Reading University, agrees. 'They're probably stale and ¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤ rancid. It's more difficult to say whether they're °ÂÁ´¤Ê to ¾ÃÈñ¤¹¤ë. Some might be but, Ëܿͼ«¿È¤Ç, I wouldn't try.'
The Mail ¹Ô°Ù¡¿¹Ô¤¦d a °ìÏ¢¤Î ¼Â¸³s on Leyla's food. The results are Êݾڡʿ͡Ëd to put you off your lunch . . .
DOMINO'S MEAT FEAST PIZZA
»ÙÇÛ's Meat Feast Pizza, 2 years and 4 months old
2 years, 4 mo nths old
LOOKS: Remarkably edible. ´¥Á礷¤¿¡¤Æü¾È¤ê¤Îd out but still looks like a slice of pizza you'd happily tuck into after a night out.
SMELLS: Stale but meaty. Bacon has a salty whiff but sausage pieces smell acidic and rancid.
FEELS: The crust is ·ã¤·¤¯Íɤ¹¤ë-solid, while the toppings are squidgy.
BACTERIA COUNT: I ¼Â¸³¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd all the foods by placing a small ¸«ËÜ of each in ¼Â¸³¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë tubes ´Þ¤à¡¿Éõ¤¸¹þ¤á¤ëing ²½³ØÀ½ÉÊs that È¿±þ¤¹¤ë to the presence of E.coli bacteria by changing colour.?
This showed that the pizza had a low count (0.5 CFU) of E.coli, which in greater ÎÌs can ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë ¸·¤·¤¤ ÉüÉô¤Î cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: »ÙÇÛ's did not Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ë to requests for comment.
VERDICT: As the oldest item in Leyla's collection, this is a ¸ÂÄꤵ¤ì¤¿ no-no. Á´ÂΤˤ錄¤ë it's very off-putting.
BURGER KING CHICKEN FRIES
2 years old
LOOKS: While the ÅÉÁõ is golden brown, the chicken inside has turned grey and shrivelled to a fraction of its former size.
SMELLS: Spicy and salty, like it's been drenched in ¿Í¹©Åª¤Ê seasoning.
FEELS: So solid I almost break the knife when trying to ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë some off.
Burger King Chicken Fries, 2 years old
BACTERIA COUNT: High (1.5 CFU). This showed the highest bacteria count of the lot, with plenty of E.coli lurking ¡½ a ¡Êµ¿¤¤¤ò¡ËÀ²¤é¤¹ »Ø¼¨¤¹¤ë¿Í¡Êʪ¡Ë that they have gone off.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Burger King did not Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ë to requests for comment.
VERDICT: Distinctly unappealing ¡½and ÀøºßŪ¤Ë ÍÆǤÊ. There wasn't much chicken in these stringy 'fries' to begin with, but all ³°¸« of meat has gone after two years of mummification.
McDONALD'S CHIPS
2 years old
LOOKS: They've held their ·ÁÂÖ¡¿Ä´À° and colour but look deflated, as if the potato has started to Êø²õ¤¹¤ë.
SMELLS: Stale, greasy and unappetising.
FEELS: Incredibly oily. Leyla says she Äê´üŪ¤Ë has to decant the fat that continues to seep from the ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs, and my fingers are coated in oil when I Áª¤Ö up a handful.
McDonald's ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs, 2 years old
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). There's no meat or ÍïÇÀ¾ì, so I wouldn't ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ë bacteria to fester on these ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs, but there's still a ½ÅÍ×¤Ê ÎÌ.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: In its only comment on the »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë to date, McDonald's says: 'In the ¸¢Íø ´Ä¶, our burgers, like most other foods, could ʬ²ò¤¹¤ë.
'But, ¡¼¤¹¤ë¤¿¤á¤Ë ʬ²ò¤¹¤ë, you need ³Î¤«¤Ê ¾ò·ïs ¡½ ÆÃ¤Ë moisture. Without ½½Ê¬¤Ê moisture, bacteria and mould may not grow and therefore decomposition is ¤¢¤ê¤½¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤.'
VERDICT: They might not make me sick, but these ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs ¡½ high in fat, salt and sugar ¡½ are a prime example of why µÞ®¤Ê¡¿ÊüÆ¢¤Ê foods don't decay. Yuck!
TESCO ICED RING DOUGHNUT
1 year old
LOOKS: The icing and ¤Ñ¤é¤Ñ¤é±«s have gone soggy and are melting into one another, but kept their luminous colour. The doughnut underneath looks fresh.
SMELLS: Nauseatingly ´Å¤¤. But it probably smelled very Îà»÷¤Î when it was ¹ØÆþ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd.
FEELS: The dough is hard and crumbly, while the glaze on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ is tacky.
Tesco Iced ¡ÊÈȺá¤Î¡Ë°ìÌ£ Doughnut, 1 year old
BACTERIA COUNT: Low-medium (0.75 CFU). The ¸«ËÜ shows a small presence of E.coli bacteria on the year-old doughnut.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Tesco µñÀ䤹¤ë¡¿Äã²¼¤¹¤ëd to comment but does not recommend ¸ÜµÒs ¾ÃÈñ¤¹¤ë À½ÉÊs that have passed their 'use by' date for safety ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳs.
VERDICT: As it's ´Å¤¤ rather than savoury, this isn't as stomach-churning as some of the other foodstuffs, and I don't think eating it would make me ill.
McDONALD'S QUARTER POUNDER WITH CHEESE
2 years old
LOOKS: While the bun looks stale, the burger inside looks freshly cooked. Even the cheese appears waxy, as if it's just been melted.
SMELLS: Weirdly, it's ´°Á´¤Ë odourless.
FEELS: Solid and cardboardy. Burger is flaky rather than moist.
McDonald's £´È¾´ü/4ʬ¤Î1 Pounder with Cheese, 2 years old
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). Not as high as I'd fea red, given the presence of meat. It seems to have ´¥Á礷¤¿¡¤Æü¾È¤ê¤Îd out over two years, rather than rotting ¡½ although I still wouldn't ͦ´º¤ËΩ¤Á¸þ¤«¤¦ a bite.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: As previous McDonald's comment.
VERDICT: The oldest McDonald's burger still in ¸ºß is said to date from 1999, so this is no surprise. Still, the ·çÇ¡¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë of decay is startling ¡½ and the bacteria count makes me feel ¤ä¤á¤ë sick.
WALKERS MAX FLAME GRILLED STEAK CRISPS
1 year old
LOOKS: Like they've just been tipped out of a Ä´°õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd packet. They've kept their »³¤ÎÈøº¬s and the ÅÉÁõ ¡½ salt and orange seasoning ¡½ is still ÌÀÇò¤Ê.
SMELLS: There's a faint whiff of something meaty.
FEELS: They have lost their crunch and are instead slimy with grease.
Walkers Max ±ê¾å ¼èÄ´¤Ù¡¿¸·¤·¤¯¿ÒÌ䤹¤ëd Steak Crisps, 1 year old
BACTERIA COUNT: Low (0.5 CFU). The ¸«ËÜ showed only a small ÎÌ of bacteria on the crisps.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: 'All Walkers potato crisps are preservative-²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê . . . The frying ²áÄø ma kes our crisps very low in moisture, which means they are ¤¢¤ê¤½¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤ to ʬ²ò¤¹¤ë.
'However, if left in an unsealed ¥³¥ó¥Æ¥Ê for a long period of time, the crisps would become soft and stale, which would make them very unpleasant to eat.'
VERDICT: These have lost all their crispiness and become soggy potato slices, ¶Ëü¤Ë-seasoned. Àâ that, one or two probably wouldn't do me any ³²¡Ê¤òÍ¿¤¨¤ë¡Ë.
GREGGS SAUSAGE ROLL
1 year old
LOOKS: Freshly baked. The pastry is crisp and golden and flakes off in my fingers.
SMELLS: The pastry has no aroma but the sausage inside ¡½ now shrivelled to half its size ¡½ smells unpleasantly ´Å¤¤ and malty.
FEELS: Solid all the way through. It's ·ã¤·¤¤, too.
Greggs Sausage Roll, 1 year old
BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). The ¸ü¤¤ pastry ÅÉÁõ seems to have stopped the meat from decaying too much, but it's still not going anywhere ¶á¤Å¤¯ my plate.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: Greggs µñÀ䤹¤ë¡¿Äã²¼¤¹¤ëd to comment.
VERDICT: I'm a sucker for a saus age roll but this will make me think twice.
McVITIE'S JAFFA CAKES
1 year old
LOOKS: The chocolate is ´¥Á礷¤¿¡¤Æü¾È¤ê¤Î with white °ÌÃÖ¡¿±øÅÀ¡¿¸«¤Ä¤±½Ð¤¹s on ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹. The orange jelly ÁØ inside has all but disappeared.
SMELLS: That delicious dark chocolatey aroma has been ¼è¤Ã¤ÆÂå¤ï¤ëd with an ¿Í¹©Åª¤Ê, ¤ï¤º¤«¤Ë sour ¶¯¤¤Ì£, like gone-off milk.
FEELS: The Çö¾Æ¤¥Ñ¥ó¡¿ÁǾÆÆ«´ï is so ´¥Á礷¤¿¡¤Æü¾È¤ê¤Î it's powdery and Íî¤Á¤ës to pieces in my ¼êÅϤ¹s.
McVitie's Jaffa Cakes, 1 year old
BACTERIA COUNT: Low-medium (0.75 CFU), so not as bacteria-ridden as some of the other ¸«ËÜs, but surprisingly high for a ´Å¤¤ À½ÉÊ.
MANUFACTURER SAYS: McVitie's did not Åú¤¨¤ë¡¿±þ¤¸¤ë to requests for comment.
VERDICT: All the ¹½À®Í×ÁÇs of a Jaffa Cake are still there, but not in a good way. The Çö¾Æ¤¥Ñ¥ó¡¿ÁǾÆÆ«´ï base looks like ºÆ¹½À®¤¹¤ëd dust.
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