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 various food stored by?Leyla Kandemir, who?uses her collection to show clients the dangers of eating ultra-processed foods pumped full of so much salt, sugar, chemicals and preservatives that they never go off

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 psychothe rapy degree at the Open University in 2016, followed by a °ìÏ¢¤Î »ñ³Ês in ±ÉÍÜ.

Pictured: Nutritionist Leyla Kandemir and her food cupboard of processed food
Pictured: Nutritionist Leyla Kandemir and her food cupboard of processed food

Pictured: Nutritionist Leyla Kandemir and her food cupboard of ²áÄød food that she keeps to show clien ts 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.?

Comprising burgers and chips from McDonald¡Çs, Greggs sausage rolls, Domino¡Çs pizza, and pastries, bread and buns from her local Tesco, some of these ¡
ÆFrankenfoods¡Ç date back to April 2019 and are part of a groundbreaking experiment

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 video of the cupboard to social media platform TikTok, where it has now been viewed more than four million times

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 milli on 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 loaf of Í­µ¡¤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 selection of the food stored by nutritionist Leyla Kandemir.?Most ultra-processed foodstuffs are preserved by very high levels of sugar and salt, as well as cooking processes that involve extracting water, which makes them less prone to rot

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 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

'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

Domino¡Çs Meat Feast Pizza, 2 years and 4 months old

»ÙÇÛ's Meat Feast Pizza, 2 years and 4 months old

2 years, 4 months 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

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 t he ȾƳÂÎÁÇ»Òs, and my fingers are coated in oil when I Áª¤Ö up a handful.

McDonald¡Çs Chips, 2 years old

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 sw eet. 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 Ring Doughnut, 1 year old

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¡Çs Quarter Pounder with Cheese, 2 years old

McDonald's £´È¾´ü/4ʬ¤Î1 Pounder with Cheese, 2 years old

BACTERIA COUNT: Medium (1 CFU). Not as high as I'd ¶²¤ì¤ëd, 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 makes 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

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 sausage 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¡Ç
s Jaffa Cakes, 1 year old

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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