Why does cut lettuce turn red?

Online Answer
In the same way that an apple browns once cut open, leafy vegetables deteriorate due to oxidation. This is the most common reason for lettuces to turn red or brown, and it happens because of exposure to oxygen. ... The oxygen acts as a catalyst that triggers an enzyme in the plant to produce off-colored compounds..
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When you cut into the potato, you damage the cell walls that keep everything nice and tidy. The phenols and the enzymes meet the oxygen coming in from the outside world, causing a chemical reaction to take place. This chemical reaction results in – you guessed it – pink potatoes.
When scrambled eggs sit for a while, they tend to turn green or gray. This is a chemical reaction that happens as hydrogen sulfide in the egg white reacts with the iron in the yolk to form iron sulfide. The eggs are perfectly safe to eat like this, the problem is, they look unappetizing..
While a banana in the beginning of the ripening process might become sweeter and turn yellow, it will eventually overripen by producing too much of its own ethylene. High amounts of ethylene cause the yellow pigments in bananas to decay into those characteristic brown spots in a process called enzymatic browning..
A-The brown spots on lettuce may be cosmetically undesirable, but they do not make the lettuce unsafe to eat. The spots may be the result of a high storage temperature. Lettuce should be stored at a fairly low temperature in an airtight container. Stored this way, some lettuce can be kept for as long as three weeks.May 27, 1991.
There's no harm in actually eating lettuce that's oxidizing and turning pink. ... As long as the lettuce isn't wilted or slimy and it looks to be in good condition, you can safely eat it, pink edges and all. But fair warning—a head of lettuce with rusty-looking stems and leaves is on its last leg..