The fresh-cut lettuce business has more than quadrupled in the past decade; in some years, sales increased by more than 20%. And we’re choosing healthier greens: more romaine and leaf lettuces, which are higher in vitamins and minerals than nutritionally weak iceberg. But sales took a dive last year after deadly E. coli outbreaks were linked to pre-washed greens. Even 6 weeks after the FDA recall of bagged spinach had ended, nearly half of consumers were still afraid to buy it, according to the Rutgers University Food Policy Institute. Shortly after the spinach situation, another E. coli outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce. Although these outbreaks scared many of us, the truth is that these incidents are few and far between. That doesn’t mean that bagged greens aren’t without their issues. Ounce for ounce, pre-washed lettuce is nearly twice as expensive as unwashed greens. Also, packaged salad greens do spoil faster than whole ones, which means farmers have to work very efficiently and use constantly evolving technologies. Manufacturers race to get the product harvested, cleansed, dried, bagged, and trucked so it can sit in your supermarket and home fridge without spoiling. Much of our lettuce is grown in Arizona or California and then sent to processing plants, where it’s washed with cold chlorinated water or acetic acid, dried, and packed into “modified atmosphere” bags or tubs. These containers are key: The plastic film decreases the amount of decay-causing oxygen that reaches the greens. Some of the bags are puffed with a gas such as nitrogen to form a protective pillow around the leaves. 3 Mouthwatering Main Dish Salads
