Ökotest glutamate & germs found in cooked ham

Ökotest found germs and glutamate in different types of cooked ham. Eight of the packaged ham products received grades five and six.

(30.04.2010)The magazine "Ökotest" undertook a test series in which the quality and ingredients of packaged ham were tested. In addition the Ökotester bought in different supermarkets packaged cooked ham from different manufacturers. The result: Shortly before the end of the shelf-life, boiled ham usually contains many germs. However, these are so-called lactic acid bacteria, which do no harm to the human body. Nevertheless, these lactic acid bacteria would change the taste significantly, so Ökotest. The ham then taste very "sour", so the testers. Ökotest also checked the products for germs and chemical additives. Occasionally enterobacteria were also found. These bacteria may well harm the human organism.

A total of 14 packaged cooked ham varieties were tested. No cooked ham received the award "very good". Only the variety of the brand "Herta" as well as the discounter cooked ham from "Lidl" got the grade 2. All other packaged cooked ham got worse grades. The rating "5" and "6" was awarded a total of eight times. The result was surprising, because organic products hardly differed from the conventionally produced types of ham in the test results. In other tests, mostly eco-products performed better.

The additives in the boiled ham were also examined. So many manufacturers use flavors, yeast extracts and seasoning. This should "improve" the taste for the consumer. On the positive side, no manufacturer used monosodium glutamate. However, traces of glutamate have been found, to which numerous people with allergy-like symptoms react. Some people complain of nausea and / or headache when eating glutamate.

The next edition of Ökotest will publish the exact test results. Already, some manufacturers have praised improvement and want to revise their cooking ham products. A general advice can already be given: cooked ham should be consumed quickly and not kept too long. Consumers should look in the supermarket for the best before date and buy only those varieties, whose expiration date is still far away. (Sb)

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Picture: Heinz Ober, Pixelio.de