Do you wash salad from a bag?

Image by UnholyKnight via Flickr

Consumer Reports has an article in the March 2010 issue that gives me pause: Tests found pre-washed salad in bags or plastic containers -- including organic -- weren't always squeaky clean.

That worried me, because I am a big fan of Earthbound Farm organic spring mix, which I buy at Costco for $4.49 a pound (the price of the container I bought today). I don't wash this delicious mix of red and green baby lettuce, arugula, radicchio, chard and mizuna before stuffing it into a sandwich or making a dinner salad.

The article said contaminated salad usually contained spinach, and my Earthbound Farm mix doesn't have spinach. But I do sometimes buy another bagged salad at Costco -- a non-organic product complete with dressing, nuts and cheese. I don't believe that one has spinach, either, but I'll be looking more closely at my pre-washed salads in the future -- and maybe even washing them.

Here is the link to the Consumer Reports article: How clean is bagged salad?