Fans of Italian cuisine must now be particularly strong. According to the german Öko-Test, one in five passata contains mold toxins. What sounds disgusting can also have health consequences.
Passed tomatoes are the basis for many delicious dishes. Without passata, pizza, lasagna, pasta sauces or soups taste boring.
Passata can be portioned practically and quickly. But, whether we should also reach for the purchased strained tomatoes in the future is questionable.
German Öko-Test took a close look at 50 passata. The result is shocking and disgusting at the same time.
Apparently, many manufacturers have rotten and moldy tomatoes packed in jars and tubes. A high concentration of mold toxin was detected in every fifth product.
Passata tested in 2021: 10x failed
If you haven't quite lost your appetite yet, you will now at the latest: Öko-Test has discovered mold in all 50 samples.
Fortunately, there were only small traces in most of the samples. 10 out of 50 products failed completely because the contamination was too severe. At these manufacturers, spoiled tomatoes were not sorted out, but simply processed.
Organic products are particularly affected by mold. Without pesticides and fungicides, it is difficult to prevent mold in organic farming.
These brands showed a high level of mold contamination in Öko-Test 2021:
- Organic Passata from Rewe (Poor)
- San Fabio Passata di Pomodoro Classic from Penny (Deficient)
- Tomato Passata from Bio Zentrale (Insufficient)
- Tomatoes strained by Demeter (Unsatisfactory)
- Mondo Italiano strained tomatoes from Netto (Unsatisfactory)
The Passata from Netto stood out particularly negatively in the Öko-Test. Not only were molds found in the tests, but as many as seven pesticides were detected. Six of these were within normal limits, but one was well above the legal maximum levels.
The consequences of mold toxins in food
What health consequences molds have on the human body is not yet entirely clear. However, animal experiments show that organ damage is possible. Tenuazonic acid (TEA), which is found in mold, is responsible for this.
The mold toxin alternariol (AOH) has shown in cell studies that the genetic material can be damaged. However, there have been few studies so far, says Markus Schmidt-Heydt, who studies mold toxins at the Max Rubner Institute: "Overall, the data situation is still thin and there is an urgent need for research."
This passata has nothing to hide
Of course, there are also products and brands that have attracted positive attention. Fortunately, they predominate in the ecotest.
17 strained tomato products received the top rating of "very good".
Among others:
- Yes! strained tomatoes from Rewe
- Oro di Parma
- Pomito strained tomatoes
- Freshona Organic Organic Strained Tomatoes
- Alnatura Passata finely strained
- Oro di Parma
If you are interested in the complete test result, you can find it here at Öko-Test view directly.
If you want to be on the safe side, prepare your own tomato sauce and boil it down. We'll tell you how to do that in an extra article.
Make and boil down your own tomato sauce - the XXL Guide!
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