@James Walsh. I hope you don't mind me answering that question. General Rule is to not leave food out longer than 1 hour at room temperature.

@@Bertex96 Thanks, I'll take good advice wherever I can get it. So let me ask. At the market all these veggies are sitting in bins at room temp. so why is it necessary to refrigerate after you cut them up at home?

You can leave out your fruits and veggies for a long time. If they are raw, after a few days you will run into some moisture loss and/or over ripening. For instance, you shouldn't generally refrigerate tomatoes and should leave them out to ripen. If you leave carrots out, they will dry out and get floppy.

It really depends on the fruit or veggie. Once something is cut, it needs to be used or frozen, usually. As for storage for veggies: if you trim the bottom of broccoli stalks, stand them up in a cup or storage vessel in a small amount or water in the fridge, and tent them, broccoli can stay fresh at least a week longer. To "tent," I usually use those thin, flimsy plastic bags from the grocery store, draped over and closed at the bottom of the cup with a rubber band. I store things like green onions, cilantro, parsley, stalks down in a cup with a little water and tented, and they can last much longer in the fridge, usually a few weeks. Some veggies are best stored outside of the fridge, in a cool, dry place - potatoes, onions and some root veggies. Tomatoes should stay out of the fridge until ripe, then used or in fridge. Bananas are best kept out of the fridge. Most other fruit is best kept in the fridge once ripe. The best thing to do is look up each fruit or veggie to check for recommended storage tips. Some items release gas which can affect other items, so it is a good idea to look up each item.

@@guycoburn1633 Don't store potatoes and onions together .. and .. leave them in the light.

He added seasoning after adding the vegetables. 🙂