Pre-washed, packaged leafy greens have gotten a bad wrap due to E.coli and Listeria outbreaks that have sickened and even killed people, but studies say the bagged stuff is just as safe and healthy as whole lettuce heads, says NPR.
“Detectable contamination in both whole head lettuce and mixed salad greens categories are very very low, typically less than 0.1% positives [for pathogen detection],” University of California, Berkeley food and perishables specialist Trevor Suslow, told NPR.
NPR, citing one study, said packaged salads have comparable concentrations of vitamin C and flavonoids, though antioxidants declined during storage. Salad kits are placed in bags specifically engineered to thwart oxidation, mitigating spoilage and wilt.
Packaged salad sales are booming. They rose 8 percent to $3.7 billion in the year ending April 2, consumer tracking company Nielsen said. NPR cited figures from another source that projected $7 billion in packaged salad sales this year. “And here’s the kicker,” NPR said. “It’s reasonable to conclude that the convenience and availability of bagged salad kits has nudged Americans to consume more.”