Mineral oil and critical ingredients: test reveals dangers in veggie sausages

In Germany, more and more vegan and vegetarian sausages are landing on the plates.

However, test results show that the meat substitutes also pose a major health risk.

Munich - They are becoming more and more popular in German households: veggie sausages and other supposedly healthier meat substitutes.

But health-damaging factors are often hidden in the popular grilled sausages.

As test results from this year show, many products contain indications of harmful substances and should therefore be consumed with particular caution.

Eco test: seven sausages fail

In May of this year, Ökö-Test * examined 20 vegetarian and vegan sausages and made some shocking findings: traces of mineral oil were found in 18 of the 20 products tested.

A total of seven sausages did not pass the test series, only one product was rated “very good”.

In addition to the search for mineral oil, the sausages were also examined for other questionable ingredients, for example there was a deduction for excessively high salt content or artificial flavors.

In the taste test, however, all products were convincing.

Veggie sausages: Six times grade 6

The eight products that failed all contained critical ingredients and therefore did not get above grade 5 (“unsatisfactory”).

The following vegan and vegetarian sausages fell into this category:

• Thuringen Vegan

  from

  Wheaty Seitan

  (Grade 5)

• Vegetarian grilled sausages

  from

  Es schmeckt

  (Grade 5)

• Beyond Sausage Brat Original, vegan

  from

  Beyond Meat

  ("unsatisfactory", grade 6)

• Vegetarian sausages

  from

  Eden

  (grade 6)

• Vegetable grillos 5 long sausages, vegan

  from

  Guzinos

  (grade 6)

• Bratmaxe veggie grill, vegetarian

  by

  Meica

  (grade 6)

• Vegetarian Lass-Die-Sau-Raus sausages

  from

  The Vegetarian Butcher

  (Grade 6)

The only meat substitute product that passed the test with the grade “very good” was the

from

 for around 4 euros.

Veggie sausages: DM product can convince

Four other sausages passed the test with the grade “good” (grade 2).

These products included:

• Lupine grilled sausages, vegan

  by

  Alberts

• Organic vegan sausages

  from

  DM

• Grill cracker soy sausages, vegan

  from

  Taifun

• Veggie-fresh sausages, vegan

  from

  Veggie Life

The own brands of other major brands, such as Aldi and Rossmann *, scored “satisfactory” (grade 3) with their sausages.

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