ECOSCIENCE EXPERIMENTING WITH PREPACKAGED SALAD

ERIC THORSEN

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- New England consumers will be the first in the country to sample a ready-to-eat packaged salad that contains tomatoes, according to the company that developed the product.

EcoScience, based here, will begin test marketing the ready-to-eat salad -- containing leafy vegetables, tomato wedges, salad dressings and a set of eating utensils -- beginning in January. Tomatoes were selected because they are the leading produce item added to prepacked salads, said officials.

The packages will contain presliced wedges of beefsteak tomatoes, sourced from eight greenhouse facilities operated by Agro Power Development, a subsidiary of EcoScience. (See "Time Was Ripe for Village Farms Opening," SN 9/28/98.)

Because the commingling of tomatoes and greens creates ethelyne gas that accelerates spoilage, the company created new tray packaging which physically isolates the tomatoes from the rest of the salad ingredients, said David Hollowinski, senior vice president of business development for EcoScience.

Additionally, the entire salad will have a longer shelf life due to the use of modified atmosphere packaging, created by Vancouver, B.C.-based SunBlush Technologies Company. Under an agreement between SunBlush and Ecoscience, the packaged salads will be co-branded under the SunBlush's Northeast Fresh and EcoScience's Village Farms labels. The product will be assembled at the SunBlush facility in Chelsea, Mass.