Ökotest-Ratgeber How consumers recognize rotten fruit salad

If you like to make fruit salad, you should take a good look at the selection. Because according to a recent study of the magazine "eco-test" these are "partially rotten". But with a simple trick, consumers can easily tell if the product is fresh or not.

"Fruit salad to go" is trendy
Whether for the way to work, the lunch break in the office or just in between: Finished fruit salads are delicious, practical and promise a quick vitamin kick. But the "fruit salad to go" from the supermarket or from the freshness stand at the station is not always as healthy as it looks. This is shown by a recent study by the ÖKO-TEST magazine. Accordingly, many finished fruit salads are not recommended, because the processed fruit
"Contains less vitamins, is partially rotten and three times as expensive as home-made fruit salad," according to a recent release from the magazine.

Gammeliger fruit salad can be recognized by some special details. (Image: Christian Schwier / fotolia.com)

Seven fruit mixtures, after all, recommended
The magazine had examined twelve fruit salads from supermarkets, coffee house chains and stalls at train stations and had three batches examined in the laboratory. Seven of the tested fruit salads were classified as "recommended", with the "Fresh for You Colorful Fruit Mix" from Real, "Havita Tutti Frutti" from Karstadt and the "Rewe Exotic Fruit Salad" achieving particularly good results. Kaiser's Fig Salad and Coffee Fellows Refreshing Area finished last. Here, one of the three sensory batches was so spoiled that the experts did not even want to try it, according to the report by Öko-Test. Only the fruit mix from Real did not exceed one of the guidelines of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM), which is available for yeasts, molds and enterobacteria among other things.

The experts also had the content of vitamin C measured, because as soon as the fruit is cut, it immediately loses vitamins. It turned out that many samples were no longer fresh, so the message on. "By cutting the fruit inside is no longer protected from air and light," the ecotrophologist Silke Restemeyer is quoted by the German Nutrition Society in the report of the magazine. Reaction with atmospheric oxygen (oxidation), elevated temperatures and prolonged storage favor vitamin depletion, Restemeyer continues. If the fruit were not stored correctly, the content of vitamin C could be lost to almost 100 percent.

Bubbles in the fluid indicate spoilage
According to Öko-Test, manufacturers would often guarantee a shelf life of four days, but it is precisely when the cold chain is interrupted that unwanted germs could multiply indefinitely. Consumers should therefore keep their fingers off uncooled fruit salads, according to the experts' recommendation. Another simple trick is to check the liquid at the bottom of the cup, because a lot has been collected here, the product is older. Bubbles in the liquid would even indicate a beginning spoilage. This happens particularly quickly in fruits with a low acid content such as e.g. Melons that were present in almost every cup studied. To make sure, the fruit salad should therefore be prepared by yourself, advises the magazine. This is not only fresher and healthier, but also considerably cheaper, because a finished cup usually costs twice or even three times as much. (No)