Grilling
Vegan grilled sausages in the eco-test – three organic brands fail
Vegan sausages are increasingly sizzling on the grill. But which ones are recommended? Ökotest has the answers.
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Bratwurst is a classic on the grill, but these days they are increasingly made from plant-based ingredients. Vegan meat alternatives are popular. But what about the quality? Ökotest tested 19 grilled sausages. Only one was “very good”.
When columns of smoke rise every few meters, it is barbecue season. Then steak, sausages and corn on the cob are put on the grill, salad is layered and the beer bench set up. In Germany, barbecuing is almost a cultural asset. According to a barbecue study, one in four people in Germany do it at least once a week, about 40 percent every two weeks and about a quarter at least once a month.
Neck steak and Thuringian sausages are increasingly being replaced by their plant-based brothers on the grill. Can the quality of these highly processed foods keep up with their growing popularity? Ökotest tested 19 vegan grilled sausages, subjecting them to both a laboratory test and a sensory test. What the products offer consumers is not a brilliant achievement. On the contrary: the testers do not want to recommend buying almost two thirds of the plant-based alternatives.
Ökotest rates only one vegan grilled sausage as “very good”
Sausages yes, but vegan please? There are now plenty of meat-free alternatives. However, the quality often leaves something to be desired. According to Ökotest, the test results for grilled sausages are sometimes disappointing. Only the “Ener Bio Tofu Sausages” from Rossmann scored “very good”. Six others are at least good.
Once again it has been shown that the organic label alone is not an indication that the product is really top-notch. Three organic brands performed so poorly that they failed the test. Among others, the Denree vegan sausages and Albert’s lupine bratwurst are, in the opinion of Ökotest, far too heavily contaminated with mineral oil components and therefore both only received an “unsatisfactory” rating. The “Gutfried Wie Bratwurst” sausage also contains increased amounts of chlorate and is also only “unsatisfactory”. The testers were also disappointed by the vegan bratwurst from Rügenwalder Mühle and the Bio Company Seitan sausages. Both products are “unsatisfactory” according to Ökotest and do not pass the test.
You can find the entire test report here.