Atlanta — Celebrate National Salad Week by enjoying your favorite salad this week and don’t forget the salad dressing, says the Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS).

The Atlanta-based trade association of salad dressing and sauce manufacturers and suppliers celebrates salads and salad dressings year-round and especially in the summer.

“Salads are a perennial favorite, but summertime is the time of year when produce is most bountiful, and eating salads is a great way to beat the summer heat and add nutrients to your diet,” according to Pam Chumley, ADS’ Executive Director.

According to a recent consumer survey conducted by Synovate, 95 percent of Americans consume salads at least three times per week. And not only do most Americans eat salads regularly, but they perceive others who eat salads regularly as healthier, happier and sexier!

“What consumers are saying is, ‘We want salads, but not without the flavor of a dressing,’” according to Chumley. She says salads and salad dressings are so much a part of the meal routine that many people have forgotten the integral role they play in a balanced diet. The Association’s Web site, www.dressings-sauces.org, features a free brochure, “The Good News About Salad Dressings and Sauces,” for consumers that outlines the health benefits of consuming salads and salad dressings.

Also available on the ADS Web site is an online quiz to gauge your “salad personality”.

The Association for Dressings and Sauces is a national trade association representing the manufacturers of salad dressings and condiment sauces and the suppliers to that industry. For more information, log onto www.dressings-sauces.org.