fidobsa

In UK I would often buy supermarket cakes and pastries, apple pies, cherry Bakewells etc. and they would generally keep quite well. Obviously things like buns or fresh cream cakes would have a more limited life so would get frozen or eaten within a day or two.
I buy equivalent products in Hungary, mainly in Interspar or Lidl. In this case they are the baked on the premises items so are sold loose from self service shelves or glass cupboards. My mother would never have bought cakes displayed in that way in case they had been touched by other shoppers with dirty hands.

I prefer not to keep them in the fridge as they can sometimes get soggy from condensation. They usually go in the bread bin, in their supermarket plastic bags. I'm wondering if I should revise this policy though, as I've had some go mouldy. These were apple and vanilla pillows/turnovers which I bought in Interspar on Friday. They looked OK on the outside but when I bit into one there were green mould spots growing on the vanilla part. There were also a couple of the chocolate snails/spirals bought in Penny Market and they still look OK. I don't usually keep these pastries that long but I've been trying to use up a big apple crumble I made for guests on Saturday who didn't eat much of it.

themajor

Once bought fresh from Lidl eat the same or next day. They do NOT keep at all. The reason being is there are no additives/ preservatives used.

Peter_in_Hungary

Keeping things in plastic bags is not a good idea, it will keep in any moisture and this will promote the growth of mould.
Plastic bags in fridges are OK as the temperature is lower and the bag will help stop the transfer of strong smelling foods e.g. fish transferring their smell to other absorbent foods

Products baked in factories and shipped to shops need a long shelf life so additives are put in to help this, products baked on the premises don't have this problem so these things can be left out (= cost saving) The other reasons for on premises baking is reduced transport costs, (transporting dry goods not high volume finished product), less waste, (product baking can be matched to sales with 2 hours notice) and the smell of baked bread is thought to encourage impulse buys and help sales). So IMO on premises baking is all about profit margin for the supermarket (why else would they do it?). Down side for consumers is a shorter product shelf life.

Also don't forget that the temperatures here are generally higher here than in the UK and a higher temperature will also increase the likelihood of mould growth.

Mould spores are in the air waiting to find a suitable growing medium (e.g. your bread), so washing down with hypo (bleach) can reduce the problem a bit.

fidobsa

Thanks for the replies. Is this hypo the stuff I've seen in black containers with no printed labels? I've been trying to buy proper bleach ever since I came to Hungary and have so far always ended up with ineffective toilet cleaners and things like that.

Peter_in_Hungary

Yes Hypo is the stuff in the black containers. Its bleach. Its cheap, no frills, no added smells, thickeners or fancy packaging. Which is why it is usually on the bottom shelf and difficult to see. (The high profit items are at easy reach height)

Make sure that the containers don't leak when you buy them as sometimes the quality of the containers/caps matches the price!