“No French knows a gourmet filet à la Bordelaise,” says product developer Sebastian Lege in “Besseresser” magazine (ZDF media library). “You can stop by the store and pour yourself a packet of breadcrumbs.” “This turns a healthy fish into an unhealthy food,” says the somewhat drastic nutritionist Stefan Kabisch. Almost everyone has had what Lege calls “a square flounder with crumbs on it” on their plate. In any case, gourmet fillet should not be missing from any discount store. The fish is caught and processed on the ship in plenty of water into a standardized fish block. Baked fish thus loses up to 24 percent of its weight in the oven, while real fish only loses five percent. Britta Schautz of the Consumer Advice Center in Berlin explains: “It doesn't even have to be labeled how much water is in it.”
A healthy fish becomes unhealthy
The gourmet fillet sold has the MSC certified fishing seal on its packaging. “In reality, only 80 percent of the MSC rules have to be followed to get the seal,” explains consumer advocate Schautz. “There are also stronger certifications.” And there's another trick: to be able to call yourself a gourmet fillet, the contents of each package must contain at least 70 percent pollock. The company Frosta reduces the content to 56 percent, but also writes “crispy and crispy” on the package. This indicates a particularly large amount of breading. In the food processor, the frozen fish blocks are cut into small pieces, placed on an aluminum tray and covered with a crust. It consists of breadcrumbs, whole egg, starch, onion powder, pepper, salt, paprika used for coloring, garlic powder, chopped onion, parsley, a drop of lemon juice and plenty of oil. Result: Without breading, the fish fillet would be 74 kilocalories, with breading 132.
Healthy products
The pizzas have been sitting on the freezer shelves for 50 years. The latest trend is vegetarian pizzas. “They are sustainable and meat-free,” says product developer Sebastian Lege. For example, Wagner's spinach pizza has a Nutri-Score of A. The trick: While his competitor Oetker scores a B with just 7.2 grams of added protein, Wagner uses 30 grams of protein for A. Manufacturers cheat. The products are healthy. “As a manufacturer, I can specifically change products to get a better Nutri-Score,” says consumer advocate Schautz. A few wheat germs have been added to increase vitality, and barley malt extract, which is actually sugar, gives the dough a seemingly healthier dark color. “This kind of dough is not a healthy alternative. “It just looks darker and looks healthier, but it's not,” explains nutrition researcher Kabisch.
A does not automatically mean healthy
Tomato sauce is no better either. The content contains a lot of starch, sugar and must. The wort makes the sauce a little sweeter and adds a few points to the Nutri-Score because it's fruit. Product developer Lege says, “Cheese is the only thing that tastes good on pizza. And it's fat. “A few green herbs and other colorful ingredients and everything looks vital,” says Lege. However, if you look at kilocalories, you will be disappointed. A frozen salami pizza has an average of 240 kilocalories per 100 grams – the same value as a vegetarian pizza. Kabisch, a nutrition researcher, explains: “Nutri-Score was created to compare foods in the same category. Even category A is not necessarily healthy food.
A bar from a baking pan
When most people think of a baguette, they think of France, enjoyment and tradition. However, supermarket filled frozen baguettes have little to do with it. With more additions, assembly lines and gimmicks. The machine-made baguette in the oven is actually modeled after the Croque Monsieur, a simple version of a French sandwich with cheese and ham. But the culinary problem begins with the baguette. A real baguette is made from leaven that rests for 24 hours and forms a nice crust. Industrial bread consists of dry yeast and plenty of oil so that the bread does not dry out in the oven. It is also baked in small baking tins.
Only 20 percent real cheese inside the processed cheese
There is also a cheese preparation that contains a lot of water, citric acid and desalting salts. “Too much phosphate can damage the kidneys,” warns consumer advocate Schautz. In fact, by regulation, processed cheese only has to contain 20 percent real cheese. “You can definitely talk about stretched cheese,” says product developer Lege, trying some of them. “Bah, it tastes so artificially intense.” On average, there are only four grams of ham. “It's not a crusty baguette, it's a stick-shaped hamburger bun, and be careful.” One baguette contains 240 kilocalories and thus covers one eighth of your daily requirement.