Packaged salads???

[Guest guest]

Is packaged lettuce chemically washed? Should these be avoided? Thanks!

Micele

[Guest guest]

Normally I only buy organic, but today I was shopping in a different store (we

were told gas is going over $4.00 by the end of the week in the Pacific

Northwest, so I'm getting it done now!). I bought baby spinach in a bag and it

said it did not have preservatives on it and was washed. I got curious and

started looking at other bags and most of them did NOT state that, which to me

means they have preservatives. And remember if it's not organic, it probably

had something sprayed on it to enhance it's growth.

 

Shari

 

 

[Guest guest]

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Elchanan

Tuesday, August 08, 2006 3:56 PM

rawfood ; PathOfHealth

[Raw Food] Packaged salads???

 

There are at least three big distinctions WRT lettuce:

 

- organic vs. commercially grown

- locally grown vs. shipped across the country

- washed vs. " dirty "

- packaged vs. open, available to touch and smell

 

____

Oops I obviously added one more! Sorry I can't count today.

Elchanan

[Guest guest]

I have read that packaged salad has undergone a " chlorinated wash " but not the

ones that say organic on them.

 

Elchanan <VLinfo wrote:

rawfood [ <rawfood >

rawfood ]

On Behalf Of hesavedmebygrace

Tuesday, August 08, 2006 3:14 PM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Packaged salads???

 

Is packaged lettuce chemically washed? Should these be avoided? Thanks!

Micele

___________

Hi again Micele,

There are at least three big distinctions WRT lettuce:

 

- organic vs. commercially grown

- locally grown vs. shipped across the country

- washed vs. " dirty "

- packaged vs. open, available to touch and smell

 

1. Most of the commercially grown lettuce in the US comes from the Colorado

River basin. And it

happens that the primary growing regions are directly under major test and

training flight areas

used by the US Air Force. As a result, there is a large quantity of a substance

called

perchlorate being dropped through the air, into the water, on the soil, and

directly onto the

lettuce, almost 365 days/year.

 

After MUCH pushing, the EPA finally issued a report on this last year, and the

problem is

serious. The report basically said that almost the entire US lettuce supply is

severely tainted.

So if the lettuce is not organically grown OR you don't know the farmer/farm

personally, it's

probably severely contaminated.

 

2. The ONLY lettuce that has a prayer of arriving at your table in a reasonably

fresh condition

(i.e., not propped up with chemicals) is lettuce grown close to home -- YOUR

home. So whenever

possible, we are looking for (a) farmers markets, or (b) stores that buy from

farmers in the

general area, at least within a couple hundred mile radius.

 

Here's a nifty little " trick " -- ask the produce manager if he will sell you

lettuce without

trimming the heads. Tell him/her that you just love the outer leaves, and you

don't care what

the lettuce looks like. If they CAN do that at all, then the odds are VERY high

that the lettuce

traveled a reasonably short distance. Otherwise ....

 

3. Another way to help choose the best lettuce is to buy UNwashed -- yes, dirty

-- lettuce. In

general, this can only be done at a farmers market, roadside stand, etc. And

taking time to

develop relationships with farmers and their employees can be very helpful. Why

dirty lettuce?

Because it hasn't been chlorinated, it hasn't been washed using city water, etc.

 

4. If the lettuce is packaged, you will have little idea where it came from, how

old it is, etc.

One organic " grower " harvest their lettuce in California (or somewhere west),

ships it all off

to Ohio to be washed in a mild chlorine solution, then packages the stuff and

ships it to

retailers all over. Yuck! But as you can probably tell by now, if you're on #4,

well ....

 

Now, I realize that product availability varies widely. But in my experience, at

least in or

near major cities, there are always a couple of store that carry organic lettuce

year round.

Don't be afraid to ask the produce manager to order it, consider buying by the

case and sharing.

 

Also, in my own personal experience, lettuce that is BOTH organically grown (or

better) AND

comes directly from a farm tastes SO much better than the rest of the stuff, I

really can't eat

anything but these days.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan