Published: December 08, 2005

Ready Pac Debuts New Spinach Temptations(TM) Salad Blends

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New Blends Combine Taste, Freshness, Quality, Convenience, and Health Benefits

Ready Pac announces today the debut of its latest innovation, Spinach Temptations blends, a new offering of four pre-packaged specialty spinach salad blends to complement its top-selling "European-Style" fresh-cut salads. The new blends will be available to consumers at retail stores in early January 2006. Distinctive bright yellow graphics and color-coded variety bands on the packaging ensure that shoppers can easily select favorites from the full family of Ready Pac products in the produce department.

These new Ready Pac® epicurean blends include Florentine Spinach Blend, with tender baby spinach tossed with the slightly spicy zest of baby arugula; Spinach Garden Greens, a melange of baby spinach, crisp iceberg and romaine lettuces, colorful carrots, red cabbage and radishes; Spinach Spring Mix, a savory blend of baby spinach combined with the delicate baby lettuces and the greens of spring mix and Zesty Baby Greens, a full-bodied blend featuring zesty baby mustard greens, arugula, baby spinach and baby lettuces.

"Now, there is a full range of spinach-based blends to meet consumers' needs for more healthy and delicious salads at a critical time when the nation is working to reduce the rise in obesity. An estimated 64 percent of adult Americans are considered either overweight or obese, according to the American Heart Association," emphasizes Steve Dickstein, vice president of marketing for Ready Pac. "By offering a wide selection of ways to meet the 5 A Day the Color Way(TM) as recommended by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, Ready Pac is fully committed to helping consumers eat a healthier diet. Spinach Temptations blends offer outstanding taste, quality, freshness, and convenience and can be a part of the solution."

While the health benefits of eating the fresh produce used in Spinach Temptations salad blends are well known, the new blends also meet a growing consumer need to make it easier to enjoy restaurant-style salads in the home. "Consumers tell us they want to eat more spinach, but they want their spinach combined with other salad ingredients for entertaining and family dining," continues Dickstein. With richly textured blendings of tender and spicy lettuces mixed with brightly colored orange and red vegetables, Spinach Temptations salad blends appeal to even those with the most discriminating tastes.

The launch of this new line of products is timely as recent health studies, published in the "Journal of Nutrition," point to spinach as a natural source of antioxidant-rich vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals have been shown to help fight illnesses and protect against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. The spinach in Spinach Temptations blends delivers between 600 and 3,000 micrograms of Lutein, a naturally powerful antioxidant, per serving. What's more, spinach is also one of the richest plant sources of folic acid, which may help to prevent serious birth defects. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase in folic acid has shown to help reduce birth defects. Doctors at the American Academy of Family Physicians report that spinach has also been shown to help suppress homocysteine, a blood factor related to higher rates of heart disease, depression and Alzheimer's disease. Finally, the Vitamin K in spinach helps to support stronger bones, which may help to protect against hip fracture from osteoporosis, as cited in an article in USA Today on "Spinach - The Health Powerhouse." With all these health benefits packed into a colorful and delicious blend of vegetables, Spinach Temptations blends are sure to be a hit with salad lovers and spinach fans.

California-based Ready Pac is a premier processor of fresh-cut produce. With processing facilities across the United States, Ready Pac's award-winning salads, fresh-cut fruit and vegetables are distributed in supermarkets and restaurant chains throughout North America. Ready Pac's fresh-cut produce has been judged "best tasting" by the American Culinary Chefs Best(TM) for the last seven consecutive years. For more information, visit www.readypac.com.

Disclaimer: The information regarding the health and diet aspects of the products used in Ready Pac's salad blends are based on sources that Ready Pac believes to be reliable but should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation, or advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Ready Pac does not recommend the self-management of health problems. The information on health and diet contained in this press release is not exhaustive and does not cover all aspects of any health problems or their treatment. Should you have any healthcare-related questions, please call or see your physician or other healthcare provider promptly. You should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of any information contained in this press release.