How long foods keep and how refrigeration, containers, temperature and storage conditions affect quality and safety.
Slightly flexible broccoli may just be dehydrated. Slimy or mushy broccoli, especially with a bad odor, mold, or wet decay, should be thrown away rather than rinsed or cooked to rescue it.
Dark, dry edges on cut cabbage are often surface browning and dehydration. Trim the thin layer and inspect underneath; discard cabbage that is wet, slimy, soft, moldy, or rotten-smelling.
Condensation on the bag is not automatically spoilage, but slime on the leaves is. When spinach is slick, water-soaked, matted, or bad-smelling, discard the affected bag rather than rinsing it to rescue it.
One small dry spot on firm broccoli can often be trimmed. If dark areas are wet, sunken, fuzzy, spreading through the florets, slimy, or bad-smelling, discard the broccoli.
Small dry spots on an otherwise firm head are usually a quality problem you can trim. Dark areas that are wet, sunken, fuzzy, widespread, slimy, or bad-smelling are signs to toss the cauliflower.
Light yellowing is usually a freshness and quality change, not a safety problem by itself. Firm, dry cauliflower without mold or off odors can still be cooked; wet softness and decay change the answer.
Dry flexibility can be water loss; slime is different. Beans that are wet, slippery, collapsing, moldy, or foul-smelling should be discarded.
Brown seeds or light browning in firm, dry eggplant flesh can be a maturity or storage change. Dark brown tissue that is water-soaked, slimy, moldy, collapsing, or foul-smelling is a different case.
Slimy or collapsing asparagus tips indicate decay. Remove an isolated damaged spear only if every other spear is firm and sound; multiple slimy tips or an off odor are reasons to discard the bunch.
Wrinkles, dry cut ends, and some flexibility usually reflect water loss and age. Sound spears are still usable; slimy tips, wet breakdown, mold, or bad odor are reasons to discard.
Dry localized brown spots can be a storage or quality defect rather than rot. Check the tissue around them: wetness, softness, slime, mold, or an off odor change the answer.
Black color alone does not answer the question. A dry shallow spot on an otherwise firm carrot can be trimmed; dark tissue that is wet, soft, slimy, moldy, deep, or foul-smelling should be discarded.