Why You Should Inspect That Bag Of Salad Greens Before Buying It
Salads are the perfect way to incorporate vegetables into your diet. While you can always buy the individual ingredients, most grocery chains sell pre-packaged salad mixes for your convenience. However, before you buy a bag of salad mix at the store, you should do your due diligence and inspect the bag at the store. While grocery stores abide by best-sold-by dates, some shoppers have shared anecdotal stories of finding rotten salad mix on the shelves.
Fortunately, it's fairly easy to tell if your salad mix is up to par. You should of course check the best-used by date but also inspect the quality of the spinach itself. There are tell-tale signs that spinach may be less than ideal to consume. If your spinach is wilted or slimy, then you should probably reconsider buying the bag, as spinach will turn slimy as it starts to rot.
Bagged salads generally begin to spoil toward the bottom of the bag, so look there first to make sure it's a good batch. In an interview with Martha Stewart, Randy Worobo, professor of food microbiology at Cornell University, explained, "You should also check the bottom of the bag, because spoilage may occur at the bottom of the bag first."
Avoid this grocery myth
It's a bit of a misreported myth that spoiled salad mix will balloon outward. According to USA Today, the food myth was reported on social media sites like Facebook. According to the myth, you can tell how fresh salad mix is by how flat the bag is — the puffier the bag, the higher the chance that the salad mix has spoiled. However, that is false and shouldn't be used to gauge the freshness of the salad.
According to Industrial Packaging, bagged salad mixes use special packaging that is designed to lengthen the shelf life of the produce by providing an artificial atmosphere. While to the naked eye, it may look like oxygen in those packages, it's a mix of gases including carbon dioxide. According to a 2009 study in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, carbon dioxide is used to create the needed temperature and humidity for produce.
Instead of puffiness, you want to examine whether your bagged salad mix has a lot of moisture. Moisture, given off by spinach in the bag, can cause bacteria to grow as a result. So the less liquid in your salad mix, the better the chances that it's still good to eat.
How long bagged salad lasts
While you probably should avoid salad mix if the entire bag is full of slimy spinach, a few wilted leaves aren't a deal-breaker. If you want your bagged salad mix to last longer, then just remove the wilted leaves when you get home. You can also keep an insulated cooler in your car to protect your bagged mix from moisture and heat, especially during the summer. This will maintain the temperature of your produce while transferring it from the store to your home.
When buying bagged salad mix, as with any produce, you face the ticking clock on how long the mix will last. According to the FDA, most bagged salad mixes will last between 12 to 16 days. Depending on the sell-by-date on your salad mix, that time may be significantly less when you buy it, so it's best to eat your salad sooner rather than later. To maximize the lifespan of your salad mix, consider transferring them into a separate container. Use a paper towel to dry off your greens and remove any extra moisture. Keep an eye on the quality of your spinach leaves and remove any additional ones as they wilt.