Retail salad survey

Thursday 23 September 2004

The results of a Food Standards Agency survey of retail salads, including lettuce, spinach, rocket and mixed salad bags, show that the levels of nitrates in these salads are below the safety guidelines.

Vegetables are a major source of nitrate in the diet. Green leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach, naturally contain higher levels of nitrate than other foods. Every Member State in the European Union is required to monitor and report levels of nitrate in lettuce and spinach in the field. In order to complement this statutory monitoring, the Agency commissioned this survey to obtain information on the levels of nitrate in retail salads available to UK consumers. Samples included whole lettuce (Iceberg, Round, Little Gem, Lollo Rosso and Cos), bagged salads (mixed lettuces including rocket), rocket and spinach (mature, baby, loose, canned and frozen).

Two hundred and one samples of lettuce, spinach, rocket and mixed salads were analysed. None of the mixed salad bags were above the legal limits. Of the 142 samples of lettuce and spinach (for which there are maximum limits), 18% of the lettuce samples would be above the legal limits that will come into force on 1 January 2005. Twenty per cent of spinach samples would have been above the legal limits if they applied in the UK. No limits exist for rocket. However, it should be noted that when the results of the survey were used to estimate dietary exposures to nitrate it was found that the levels detected did not pose a risk to consumer health.