The lettuce that can last for more than a week in fridge

IF YOU regularly find yourself staring at soggy, wilted lettuce in the bottom of your fridge, then don’t worry – scientists may have found a solution.

Researchers claim to have developed a way to extend the life of lettuce so that the leaves will stay fresh for more than a week.

Professor Gail Taylor, from Southampton University, found that small, tough leaves with lots of cells packed closely together tend to stay crisp and firm for longer.

She worked out what genetic make-up is responsible for these characteristics and has teamed up with packaged salad producer Vitacress to selectively breed lettuces with these qualities.

Professor Taylor said: ‘Our research means leaves last longer after you get them home. That will allow families to do their weekly food shop and have fresh salad on any day of the week.’

The study also found that producers could increase salad shelf-life by reducing the water used during growing by 20 per cent – which has the added benefit of being a more environmentally friendly growing process.

Baby salad leaves – usually cos or lollo rosso – undergo rigorous processing before they reach supermarket shelves.

Only the most robust leaves can survive this process. This makes growing salad crops with hardy leaves lucrative for the packaged salad industry, as it reduces waste and increases shelf life.

Professor Taylor added: ‘We were able to show that if you reduce water use in salad production by about 20 per cent, you actually develop smaller, tougher leaves with stiff cells walls, which is what we’re interested in. At the same time, the company reduces its water footprint.’