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Product Tester Damaged mold toxins discovered in 19 nut nougat creams
No matter whether products with a big name or which from the discounter: Nut nougat creams can be found on many German breakfast tables. The Stiftung Warentest has now found in several such spreads mold toxins. The hazardous substances have probably entered the products with the hazelnuts.
Chocolate spreads on the breakfast table
For many Germans, nut nougat creams are served daily on the breakfast table. Health experts see the sweet spreads rather critical. Whether branded products or which from the discount store: Usually the creams contain a lot of sugar and fat. Bad palm oil is often considered to be particularly problematic, with industrial processing producing dangerous pollutants, so-called fatty acid esters. Some of the chocolate spreads apparently also contain carcinogenic substances. Stiftung Warentest has proven aflatoxins in several such products.
For many Germans, nut nougat creams are served in the morning. The Stiftung Warentest has now found in some products mold toxins. (Image: ramoncin1978 / fotolia.com) Mold toxins in nut nougat creams detectable
The Stiftung Warentest has found in a laboratory examination in numerous nut nougat creams mold toxins. According to a news agency AFP, so-called aflatoxins were detectable in 16 out of 21 tested chocolate spreads. As the April issue of the magazine "test" states, while everyone kept the limit for aflatoxins, seven products were still heavily contaminated with the toxins. According to the other five products, no mold fungus toxins were found, including the classic Nutella and the cheaper alternatives from real, Kaufland and Aldi Nord and the organic product Bionella.
Carcinogenic substances in chocolate
Years ago, when the dispute over chocolate nuts from Rittersport flared up, the experts at Stiftung Warentest also found pollutants such as aflatoxins in various chocolates. "These mold toxins are not always avoidable with nuts," write the testers in the current issue. They can arise when falsely stored or improperly dried hazelnuts mold. According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), aflatoxins are "among the most potent naturally occurring poisons and carcinogenic substances". As the Institute reports on its website, the mold toxins are "heat-stable and are destroyed during cooking or baking only to a small extent. They can be ingested with food or contaminated air. "
Hazelnut harvest has been bad
According to the product test, the increased levels of aflatoxin in the nut-nougat creams examined may be seasonal. As the AFP writes, possibly "more goods of poorer quality have come on the market", after the hazelnut crop in the main growing country of Turkey had failed in 2014 bad. However, the Stiftung Warentest not only tested the pollutant content of the 21 chocolate spreads, but also the appearance, taste and packaging, as well as the information and advertising claims on it.
Most expensive cream devalued because of pollutants
According to the data, in addition to the test winner Nutella, there were five more nut nougat spreads with the overall rating "good". Twelve creams were judged to be "satisfactory", one rated "adequate". Two spreads received the overall rating "poor". According to Stiftung Warentest, the 1.74 euro per 100 grams most expensive cream was devalued because of pollutants from the fat. And the other had been declared on the packaging as "lactose and dairy free", but contained "more than just traces of lactose and milk protein". In summary, the magazine states: "Among the six best are a conventional brand and a bioproduct as well as four brands of creams. The testers can therefore recommend both low-priced and more expensive products. "(Ad)