Baby-leaf and multi-leaf of green and red lettuces are suitable raw materials for the fresh-cut industry

Consumer demand for softer leaves with variation in taste, shape and colours has encouraged the development of new lettuce products of baby-sized leaves. The objective of this study was the comparison of whole-head lettuce, as the most common raw material for fresh-cut, with baby-leaf and multi-leaf as the newest baby-sized lettuce leaves. Lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.) of the types Green Leaf, Red Leaf and Lollo Rosso were cultivated in the same field with different plant densities, under commercial conditions. Although baby-leaf was subjected to far less wound damage than the shredded lettuce from the whole-head, leaf age could play an important role in increasing respiration rate and determining postharvest quality. After 9–11 d of storage, minimally processed products from the three types of raw material showed good visual quality without differences among them. However, over the 12-d storage period, quality decreased to the limit of marketability mainly due to browning of the cut edge surface of the fresh-cut product from whole-heads and decay due to the soft tissue in the case of baby-leaves. Additionally, with the processing of whole-heads, the increase in cut-damage surfaces and availability of cell nutrients provided conditions that favoured the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and total coliforms compared to uncut surfaces of baby-sized leaves. The ratio between the oxidized and reduced forms of ascorbate (DHA/AA) increased 2–4 times after 9–11 d of storage. Furthermore, baby-sized leaves had higher phenolic contents than the shredded product from the whole-head which probably contributed to reaching a shelf-life of 11 d. In conclusion, the new green and red baby-sized leaves both at immature and mature stages provided high quality lettuce for the fresh-cut market, meeting specific requirements regarding visual quality, microbial load and high content of phytochemicals.

► Baby-sized leaves including baby-leaf and multi-leaf of Green Leaf, Red Leaf and Lollo Rosso lettuces were compared with fresh-cut product from whole-heads.
► The growing cycle for baby-leaf, multi-leaf and whole-heads was 66, 95 and 130 d, respectively.
► Baby-leaf and multi-leaf were more appropriate raw materials for fresh-cut because of a lower degree of cutting.
► After 12 d storage, quality loss was due to browning of the fresh-cut product from whole-heads and decay of baby-sized leaves.
► Baby-sized leaves have good visual quality, low microbial loads and high contents of phytochemicals.