Vegan sausage in the Öko-Test: two-thirds fail with a grade of “poor” or “inadequate”.
Created: 03/25/2022, 14:02
By: Maria Dirschauer
Öko-Test examined 19 sausage substitute products.
The list of shortcomings is long: mineral oil, additives and too much salt.
The test winner comes from the discounter.
"Too bad: We would have liked to recommend vegan cold cuts," writes
Öko-Test
magazine in its
April 2022 issue
.
19 vegan substitute products
from various brands were tested
, for example Rügenwalder Mühle, Alnatura, Edeka, Rewe and Veganz.
The vegan cold cuts in slices imitate salami, mortadella or ham sausage, for example.
The sobering test result: not a single product scored “very good”, but many failed with the grades “poor” or “inadequate”.
The benefits of vegan sausage
No animals need die or suffer for vegan substitutes* that mimic meat or sausage.
Compared to "real" sausages, fewer gases that are harmful to the climate are released during production, and not eating red meat also has health benefits for people.
In addition, vegan cold cuts contain significantly less fat than salami and co. and hardly any saturated fats.
Vegetarian and vegan substitute products are becoming increasingly popular, and the selection in supermarkets is growing.
© Joerg Boethling/Imago
Öko-Test criticizes problematic ingredients in vegan sausage
According to the Öko-Test, many cold cuts are contaminated with mineral oil components.
The salary was even rated as “greatly increased” five times.
Aromatic
mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH)
were detected twice by the responsible laboratory.
Carcinogenic compounds can belong to the MOAH group.
In addition, impurities with saturated mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOSH analogues)
were found in most of the products
.
These can accumulate in human adipose tissue and the liver.
The consequences of the intake for the human body have not yet been clarified.
Where do the
mineral oil components in food come from
come?
Öko-Test suspects that they "transfer from packaging to food, among other things, or from lubricants for plastic casings in vegan cold cuts." Incidentally, the latter problem is also known with "real" sausage.
However, mineral oil components have also been found in many other foods, such as spaghetti, sunflower oil and frozen pizza.
In addition, some
controversial additives
were detected in the test, such as the thickening agent carrageenan, which was found in twelve sausage substitute products - but at least in no organic product - and is suspected of causing inflammation in the intestine.
According to Öko-Test, another problem is the
salt content
in the cold cuts, which is often too high.
Too much salt increases the risk of high blood pressure and related diseases.
Vegan sausage in the Öko-Test: Test winner from the discounter, but no product received the best rating
On a positive note, Öko-Test was unable to find any sensory errors in the vegan sausage: the cold cuts were convincing in terms of both taste and mouthfeel.
Nevertheless, there are hardly any real winners among the tested products: Only
one of the 19 substitute products examined scored "good"
- and its recipe is currently being revised.
No vegan cold cut achieves the top grade “very good”.
Test winner with a rating of "good":
Vemondo Vegan ham sausage-style cold cuts
from Lidl (€1.49 per 100 g)
In the ranking behind, three cold cuts land with the
grade “satisfactory”
:
Alnatura Vegan Tofu Cold Cut Herbs (€2.70 per 100 g)
Dennree vegan cold cuts based on wheat herbs (3.32 € per 100 g)
Wheaty vegan organic cold cuts salami style (€2.49 per 100 g)
Vegan cold cuts in the test: Öko-Test advises against these products
Two thirds of the vegan substitute products tested were not convincing in the Öko-Test and received an
overall rating of "poor" or "inadequate"
.
These include, among others:
product | manufacturer | verdict |
|---|---|---|
My Veggie Vegan cold cuts, Lyon style | Edeka | insufficient |
Best Choice Vegan Cold Cuts, Salami Type | rewe | insufficient |
Vegan Mill Salami Classic | Ruegenwald mill | inadequate |
Vegan ham pick with chives | Ruegenwald mill | inadequate |
Source: Ökotest (complete results behind payment barrier)
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