Do You Have to Refrigerate Strawberries?
Question: I bought some strawberries but forgot to refrigerate them. They were sitting at room temperature all day. Are they still safe to eat?
Answer: Your strawberries should be fine. You can safely store whole, fresh fruits at room temperature, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whole straberries will generally keep for one to days at normal room temperature.
That said, you should always try to refrigerate your strawberry purchases as soon as you get home from the store.
The reason is that strawberries are highly perishable and do not ripen after being picked — leaving them at room temperature will only speed up their decay.
As detailed here, strawberries will keep in the refrigerator for about three to seven days; you can also freeze them for longer-term storage.
