As of: February 22, 2024, 1:37 p.m
By: Julian Mayr
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Stiftung Warentest has taken a close look at fish fingers.
None of the products are a complete failure, but only a few are convincing.
Munich – Even if fish is not particularly popular with children, fish fingers are usually well received by even the littlest ones.
It is well known that the normally very healthy fish in the form of breaded and then fried or baked sticks is not one of the healthiest foods.
In 2023, Öko-Test had already examined fish fingers and found that many of them may contain carcinogenic substances.
Now Stiftung Warentest is also producing sobering results.
Stiftung Warentest looked at a total of 19 different brands of fish fingers: many of them found significant amounts of harmful substances.
(Symbolic image) © Kantaruk Agnieszka/Imago
Stiftung Warentest tests fish fingers: 19 products examined
Stiftung Warentest carried out a comprehensive study of a total of eleven fish fingers, four fried fish fingers and four vegan alternatives.
The products tested came from well-known brands such as Iglo, Frosta and Alnatura, but also from own brands such as Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and Edeka.
The prices of the fish fingers tested fluctuated between 6.20 and 16 euros per kilogram.
With the exception of one product (pollock fillet), all real fish fingers were made from Alaska pollock fillets.
The vegan alternatives were made from soy, rice, wheat or a mixture of jackfruit and vegetables.
Fortunately, none of the 19 products tested received an overall rating of “poor”.
Eight products received a “satisfactory” rating and nine others were classified as “sufficient”.
Only two of the fish fingers tested received an overall rating of “good”, these being those from Frosta and Alnatura.
product |
Overall rating and price per kilogram |
|---|---|
1. Frosta fish fingers |
good (2.4) - 8.90 euros |
2. Alnatura fish sticks |
good (2.5) - 16.00 euros |
... |
|
18. Rewe Best Choice Vegan Fish Sticks |
sufficient (4.2) - 7.80 euros |
19. Rewe Yes! fish sticks |
sufficient (4.4) - 6.20 euros |
Significant pollution has been demonstrated in many fish sticks
The disappointing results could be due to the high levels of contaminants found in many products.
More than half of the sticks tested were heavily contaminated, particularly with the fatty pollutant 3-MCPD, according to Stiftung Warentest.
These fatty acid esters are formed when vegetable oil is heated, for example when deep-frying or frying, and can be converted into potentially carcinogenic substances during digestion.
Two products from Iglo and Rewe even received a rating of “poor” due to the harmful substances they contained, as they contained more than twice the permitted value of 3-MCPD for cooking oils.
Nine other products were also above the limit.
According to the test, the vegan substitute product from Kaufland also exceeded the reference value for saturated mineral oil hydrocarbons (Mosh).
The test criteria from Stiftung Warentest
The
sensory factor
accounts for 45 percent: Trained testers prepare all the sticks in a coated pan with a tablespoon of oil and evaluate them for their appearance, smell, taste, texture and mouthfeel.
In addition, the products are checked for fish pulp and bones.
The test for
harmful substances
contributes 20 percent to the overall assessment: The fish fingers are tested for lead, cadmium, mercury, 3-MCPD fatty acid esters (calculated as 3-MCPD) as well as mineral oil hydrocarbons, chlorate and perfluorinated alkyl substances.
The
nutritional quality
is taken into account at ten percent: nutrients such as fat content according to pan preparation, fatty acid spectrum, salt and iodine are analyzed using different portion sizes.
The
microbiological quality
makes up five percent of the evaluation: This checks for the total number of bacteria as well as pathogens such as salmonella, E.Coli or staphylococci.
The ease of use of the packaging
also contributes five percent to the overall rating
: the handling, effort and disposal instructions for the packaging are taken into account in the evaluation.
Finally, the
declaration
(is the information complete, correct, legible and clear) also accounts for 15 percent of the overall result.
Source: Stiftung Warentest
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Original fish fingers beat vegan alternatives in terms of nutritional content
Visually, the vegan alternatives are very similar to real fish fingers.
However, the taste test showed that only two vegan products (Iglo and Kaufland) were reminiscent of fish.
In terms of nutritional values, the vegan alternatives were clearly at a disadvantage compared to products containing fish.
According to Stiftung Warentest, in addition to a lot of protein, the iodine content is particularly important.
According to the test, vegan fish fingers only cover a fraction of the daily requirement.
In contrast, there are animal products that are much easier to replace with vegan ones.
However, not all fish fingers made with real fish contain enough of it.
According to the Stiftung Warentest test report, the ratio of fish to breading for fish fingers should actually be 65 to 35 percent.
However, this does not apply to fried fish fingers.
Three of the fried fish sticks tested still contained around 60 percent fish.
At Iglo, however, the proportion of fish was less than half (49 percent).
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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