The Wurst-Case Scenario
You look like a sausage, feel in the mouth like sausage, tastes like sausage to get along without the animal. This is the promise of vegetarian and vegan meats. But that can be really respected? Stiftung Warentest has been inspected for its current output 20 common products offered.
In the case of seven of the tested meats were Salami-counterfeiting, 13 impersonated Lyoner or Bologna. All the meats were tested for pollutants, germs and taste, in addition, the Tester analyzed their composition. The Positive: All of the products came without meat. In none of the testers came across animal genomes.
Two of the products from cuts, however, only the grade of “deficient”. The first, a vegetarian Mortadella, met with the Tester on Listeria. The pathogens can be life for people with a weakened immune system threat. However, the product was discontinued and is now fully.
A second cold cuts (the vegetarian Salami of the “Veggy Friends”) was corrupted during the Test before the expiry of the minimum durability date. The package was bloated, cold cuts, milk increased acid bacteria and other germs, the slices smelled sour and slightly bitter. A health hazard was not.
What did it taste like sausage?
The Lyon-imitations performed the Test significantly better than the Salami-counterfeiting: The auditors found all the vegetarian and vegan Lyons varieties as spicy and salty. “Most of the taste perfectly and more or less sausage”, – stated in the test report. “Many also have to bite a Sausage.”
The Salami, or Chorizo-replicas, however, do the testers that have little with the model. None had a firm bite of the original, criticised Stiftung Warentest. Only the mills-Salami of Rügenwalder Mühle have a cut off sensor. Apart from this product, a Salami-imitation came on the final grade “satisfactory”.
What is the sausages?
Many people resort probably for ethical or ecological reasons, to meat-free Alternatives. You deal with mass animal husbandry and protecting the environment.
It is clear, however, that people Who eat a vegetarian or vegan cold cuts, consumed a highly processed finished product. Vegetarian meat products often contain an ingredient in large quantities of egg whites as a reason. Add Tofu (from soy beans), Seitan (made from wheat) or peas, on which vegan products are based completely.
Since the basic ingredients generally have little taste, is all conventional meat products Aroma. The EU level, however, the to the packs listed substances considered to be safe, – stated in the test report. The organic products relied primarily on spices and vegetables, but also in yeast extract glutamate yeast cells.
The vegetarian products are healthier than the meat-containing originals?
While it is questionable whether three slicing discs exchanged a large effect on the health. Basically, but the meat are loose imitations in the Test is lower in calories and contains less salt than the meat-containing originals.
Vegetarian Salami spare compared to the Original average of two-thirds fat and almost half the calories, and salt, – stated in the test report. The Lyon-imitations come up to about half the fat and a third fewer calories than the meat versions.
Those who value a healthy diet, can ensure that vegetarian and vegan cold cuts in addition to the added Oils. Many of the tested products contained rapeseed oil, which consists of up to ten percent from Omega-3 fatty acids and, therefore, as a comparatively healthy. Other benefits, however, coconut or palm fat, which contain many relatively unhealthy saturated fatty acids.
