Bagged salads sold in supermarkets present themselves as healthy foods in a practical format to help us eat well. However, the latest survey of 60 Million consumers reveals that most contain pesticide residues. Here is the least contaminated type of salad, and all the uncontaminated bagged salads that you can eat without risk.
Lettuce, iceberg salad, lamb’s lettuce… The salads already washed and prepared which are sold in sachets in large and medium-sized supermarkets are products very appreciated for their daily practicality. They really save time, and promote balanced meals rich in fiber, sparing us certain essential but tedious and time-consuming steps in preparing a green salad. But would this ultimately be to the detriment of our health? This is the question that arises 60 Million consumers in its latest issue dated April 2024. The survey focused on 2 most popular types of salads among consumers on supermarket shelves: namely lettuce (including iceberg) and lamb’s lettuce.
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After analyzing 26 references of bagged salads, the magazine published by the National Institute of Consumption makes an alarming observation: the majority of bagged salads tested contain pesticide residues. Even worse, 60 Million consumers deplores “average 3.8 pesticide residues per salad”, which raises the question of a risk linked to the accumulation of these minimal doses of pesticides for the body. Fortunately, the magazine still found 5 salad references (lettuce and lamb’s lettuce) which are not not contaminatedto buy at the supermarket and enjoy without risk to your health.
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Pesticides in salads: what are the health risks?
As in the case of the 3 fruits most contaminated by pesticides in 2024, the doses found respect the regulatory limits, but they remain potentially harmful to health due to the potential accumulation of these small doses of pesticides in the body.
In addition, the magazine emphasizes that certain pesticides which pollute our salads are really “disreputable”because they are suspected of having carcinogenic and/or reprotoxic properties.
Lettuce, iceberg, lamb’s lettuce: what type of salad is least contaminated by pesticides?
By analyzing these conventional, organic or “pesticide residue-free” bagged salads, the magazine found that the contamination of salads by pesticides is not equal from one type of ready-to-use salad to another.
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According to the magazine published by the National Consumer Institute, “mash salad is less polluted than lettuce”. You should therefore ideally favor this type of salad, especially if you are a big consumer of ready-made salads.
Salad: the best bagged salad salads for health
Among the only salads that are free from pesticide contamination, of which there are 5, there are notably 3 salad salads in bags, including one available in discount supermarkets for only 1.14 euros. Here they are :
- Bonduelle’s lamb’s lettuce without pesticide residuewhich obtains the best grade in the classification of lamb’s lettuce 60 Million Consumers : 16.9/20. Sold for less than 2 euros in supermarkets, it is the magazine’s choice for this type of salad
- La Mâche Saladinettes from Lidlrated 16.8/20, the bag of which contains 125g of salad for even less.
- la Mâche Carrefour le Marché Maxi, in the maxi format of 200g per sachet, which costs just over 2 euros and obtains a score of 16.7/20 indicating that it is good for your health.
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Bagged salad: healthy lettuce and iceberg, validated by 60 million consumers
Even if this type of salad is more likely to be contaminated by pesticide residues than lamb’s lettuce, there are still some unpolluted lettuces (including iceberg lettuce). There are 2 references validated by the magazine, both sold for less than 2 euros only in stores:
- there Organic Bonduelle Iceberg Salad : rated 17.6/20, it obtains a better score than the best lamb’s lettuce in the ranking and thus establishes itself as the number 1 choice of 60 Million consumersbecause it is the only lettuce salad not to contain chlorine residue.
- there Florette’s Heart of Lettuce Salad : with its very good score of 17.3/20, it is a lettuce that proudly stands up to the best commercially available salad lettuce.
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