New salad line from Chiquita meets consumers’ growing desire for artisanal products, while reduced-plastic bags are also good for the greens.

Chiquita Brands Intl., Inc.’s new blend of packaged salads, Fresh Express® artisanal salads, are now available across the country in new Natursave™ reduced-plastic packaging. Chiquita says that artisanal salads bring the taste of the four seasons with ingredients cultivated by artisanal growers and picked throughout the year for optimal freshness and taste.

Consumers are increasingly looking for foods that provide a unique eating experience. According to a national Fresh Express survey of salad eaters, a majority of those polled seek artisanal products such as small batch roasted coffees, farmstead cheeses, and artisan breads. Fresh Express listened to consumer input to create the artisanal salad line.

A select group of artisanal growers plant season-appropriate greens and herbs, with select varieties grown in small crops. Leaves are then picked at the peak of freshness and are packed in new bags made of 50% less plastic than the 2009 Fresh Express Spring Mix bag, one of the company’s most popular salads. Each season is said to bring unexpected flavors that reinvent the packaged salad.

Because a better salad needs a better package, Chiquita says, Fresh Express developed its Natursave bag, which recently won a 2010 Packaging Innovation award from the United Fresh Produce Association. The convenient new salad bag is said to maintain the product quality and shelf life of similar Fresh Express blends, while using 50% less plastic than the 2009 Fresh Express Spring Mix bag.

According to the company, since the early 1990s, Chiquita and Fresh Express have been leaders in social responsibility efforts, including water conservation, reduced plastic use, and biodiversity. As with all Fresh Express salads, the new blends are thoroughly washed, contain no preservatives, and are ready to eat.