Who doesn’t love a humble spud? Whether you prefer yours mashed with lashings of butter, roasted to crisp perfection or chopped and fried for delicious home-cooked chips, you’re in good company. 

There’s something quite wonderful about the starchy veg – which requires very little from you once brought home from the supermarket. 

Simply stick them somewhere cool and dark and they’ll wait ever-so-patiently for you to pick them out again. Typically they can last up to two months.

Experts advise against keeping this food in the fridge as the cold temperatures can turn the starch in your potatoes to sugars. According to Healthline it can also make them more carcinogenic when you then fry or roast your spuds.

Likewise, sticking them in the freezer raw will make them mushy and unusable.

You’ve probably been met with the sight of your bag of spuds sprouting new life at one point or other. But is it safe to eat them? 

When to know your potatoes are bad

According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), it’s fine to eat sprouted potatoes if they are still firm to the touch, don’t look too wrinkly and shrivelled, and the sprouts are small. 

“There are, however, toxin concerns with potato sprouts, so you need to remove the sprouts and ensure that the potato isn’t too far gone (not firm),” said a social media post from the FSA.

“Also make sure to remove the eyes, sprouts, and skin.”

If your potato has green skin, the food safety experts advise to peel before cooking.

This green colour – which can occur if you don’t store your potatoes in the dark – indicates the presence of a toxin called solanine, which sits just under the spud’s skin.

Peeling away the layer makes it safer (and less toxic) to eat – meaning you don’t end up with those unpleasant effects of solanine poisoning, like sickness, diarrhoea and tummy ache. 

The presence of solanine in a potato typically makes the veg taste bitter. So if your spuds have a bitter tang or cause a weird burning sensation in your mouth, you might want to chuck it away. 

Other signs your potato is not suitable to eat include: mould, a bad smell, it has dark spots or bruises on it, or it’s gone mushy.