Madam, - I am writing on behalf of the Fresh Prepared Salads Producer Group in response to the article entitled, "Value for Money: salad leaves" (Price Watch, July 24th). We would like to clarify the situation regarding the use of modified atmosphere packaging in salad bags.
This is a perfectly safe process and involves modifying the balance of the natural gases found in the air, most notably reducing the levels of oxygen in order to slow down respiration of the salad leaves to keep them fresher for longer.
This process has also been shown to improve the retention of nutrients. Only about 20 per cent of salad bags are packed in this way. Most are just packed in fresh air.
Salad packs contain a wide range of different leaves, and the more colourful the pack, or the darker green the leaves, the more nutrients they will contain. Tests by an independent laboratory has shown they can make a substantial contribution to the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of many essential vitamins and minerals.
A 100g pack of watercress, spinach and rocket, for instance, was shown to contain 40 per cent RDA of Vitamin A, 20 per cent Vitamin C, 15 per cent Vitamin E, 74 per cent folate, 28 per cent calcium, 13 per cent iron and 9 per cent magnesium.
Readers who would like to find out more can log on to our website, www.bringonthesalads.com. - Yours, etc,
WENDY AKERS, Fresh Prepared Salads Producer Group, Twickenham, Middlesex, England.