Stiftung Warentest discount store ham quality

Stiftung Warentest discount store ham quality / Health News

Stiftung Warentest: Discounter ham performs well in examinations

12/30/2011

The Stiftung Warentest has checked the quality of many ham and found that not only the organic products but also cheaper offers from the discounter had a particularly high standard.

A total of 27 packaged raw ham has been examined in detail by Stiftung Warentest in its current study - twelve Black Forest ham, nine Serrano ham and six Parma ham. All hams fulfilled the minimum requirement for adequate processing. None of the products was made from inferior so-called glue meat.

Taste, smell and mouthfeel of ham tested
Time plays an essential role in the production of all hams. To mature, the Black Forest ham requires more than three months, Serrano ham at least seven months and a Parma ham twelve months or longer. During this time, the ham also develops its typical taste. In order to protect the ham specialties of the Serrano, Black Forest and Parma ham from inferior imitations, the EU has set certain production standards that must be adhered to during production. With three corresponding EU seals, these production standards are guaranteed, for example, the Black Forest ham as „Protected Geographical Indication“ evaluated and therefore at least one production step in the region must be made. According to the specifications for Black Forest, Serrano and Parma ham, the tested 27 ham all complied with the claim of a grown ham, whereas low-quality products made from sticky meat were not found by Stiftung Warentest. However, the quality of the ham products was sometimes very different in their taste, smell and mouthfeel. The testers also took into account the microbiological quality, the packaging and the declaration of the various hams. However, the production of processed meat remained outside, leaving a „quality“ Assessment in the current investigation does not necessarily equate to high standards in the production of.

Parma ham consistently with convincing quality
With regard to the flavor quality of the ham, the Parma ham received the best grades from the testers overall, with all six products having the quality rating „Well“ sections. The ham „Prima Vera organic“ from the organic trade reached even the best grade in appearance, smell and taste „very well“, was at 8.05 euros per 100 grams but also the most expensive ham in the test. According to the Stiftung Warentest, a similarly high quality has the much cheaper Parma ham from the discounter Lidl (2.77 euros per 100 grams). Comparable convincing was the verdict of the examined Serrano ham. Here, eight of the nine products tested received the quality rating „Well“, a Serrano cut with the note „satisfying“ from. The cheaper offers from the discounter (each 1.99 euros for 100 grams) such as „Las Cuarenta Original Serrano ham“ from net, the „Brendolan Serrano Original“ from Aldi Nord or „Fine from Spain Serrano ham“ Aldi Süd achieved the same high quality here as the expensive branded products at low prices - however, the conditions of production of the raw meat in the current test were disregarded.

Quality fluctuations in Black Forest ham
While the tested Serrano and Parma ham consistently showed a decent quality, the Schwarzwälder Schinken showed some significant fluctuations in the quality of the products. The best part of the Black Forest ham was also a bioproduct. The „Tannenhof Organic“ Hams achieved the best rating of all products tested, but at 3.30 euros per 100 grams is also relatively expensive. According to Stiftung Warentest, the price of 95 cents per 100 grams is almost as good „Black Waldrauch“ from Lidl. Of the total of 12 examined Black Forest ham, eight received the rating „Well“ one „satisfying“ and three were merely in quality „sufficient“. As Stiftung Warentest reports, one of the Black Forest hams tested by the discounter Rewe even contained a nauseating foreign body that could not be more accurately identified. The ham should therefore not have been sold at all. At the only with the quality judgment „sufficient“ In addition, the testers complained about the sometimes dominant smoky taste and the sometimes slightly tough meat.

EU seals can not guarantee the quality of the ham
Despite the EU seals, which are intended to ensure certain production standards, there are considerable fluctuations in the quality of the Black Forest ham. This is mainly related to the production condition of the operations that are not carried out in the Black Forest region. The processed meat usually comes from other regions, as there are not enough pigs in the Black Forest for the eight million hams produced in 2010, according to Stiftung Warentest. Often, for the production of meat as cost-effective as possible, for example, imported from northern Germany, Denmark or Eastern Europe. Correspondingly large are the possible quality variations in the raw meat. Although the situation is similar in the production of Parma ham, which is mostly produced in the region around Parma, but whose source meat comes from all Italian regions between the Alps and Rome. Here, however, clearly higher standards are generally observed than, for example, the Black Forest ham, as confirmed by the consistently good test results of Parma ham. (Fp)

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Picture: Rainer Sturm