ÖKO-TEST has examined 50 fruit mueslis in the laboratory for ingredients. The result is devastating: In addition to heavy metals and mineral oil, there are also various toxic pesticides in the muesli. Here you can find out which brands you should better keep your hands off of in the future. We also reveal how healthy breakfast really is in the video.
Fruit muesli is actually supposed to ensure a healthy start to the day – but ÖKO-TEST believes that this does not necessarily apply to some commercially available breakfast mixes. Like the magazine (Issue 1/2022) reports, there are sometimes many different pesticides in mueslis. These even include those whose use is prohibited in the EU.
Only positive observation: If it is a product with an organic seal, the mueslis are largely unencumbered by pesticides.
Cheap test winners: These mueslis are “very good”
The test shows that good muesli doesn’t have to be expensive. In addition to organic and branded products, inexpensive mueslis also score “very good”:
- Organic Primo berry muesli with raisins from Müller for 2.35 euros
- Bio Sonne organic muesli fruits from Norma for 2.49 euros
- Crownfield Bio Organic Whole Grain Muesli Fruits from Lidl for 2.49 euros
- Gut organic muesli classic spelled and fruits from Aldi for 2.49 euros
- K-Organic Berry Muesli from Kaufland for 2.31 euros
- Natur Gut organic spelled and fruit muesli from penny for 2.49 euros
- Rewe organic berry muesli, Naturland from Rewe for 2.99 euros
You can read which mueslis also convince in the test in detailed test chargeable at ÖKO-TEST.
You’d better keep your hands off these mueslis
ÖKO-TEST examined 50 fruit mueslis with a fruit content of 7 to 55 percent. 21 of them scored “very good”. In return, 10 products received the worst grade “unsatisfactory”.
The Negative record sets up the “Seitenbacher Muesli gluten-free” in which the testers detected traces of 31 pesticides, including the fungicides carbendazim and famoxadon, which are banned in the EU. According to the report, seven other products contained substances whose use is also banned in the EU.
The following products fail the test with “unsatisfactory”. You should keep your hands off these mueslis due to their critical ingredients:
- Seitenbacher pampering mix
- Schär Gluten-Free Fruits Muesli
- One Day More fruit muesli
- Hensel Our house muesli
- Golden Breakfast Fruit Muesli
- Dr. Oetker Vitalis fruit muesli
- Brüggen fruit muesli
- Alpen No Added Sugar Swiss Style Muesli
- Spielberger Mühle Muesli spelled fruits, Demeter
Controversial in the EU, but not yet banned, is glyphosate, a suspected cancer drug, whose widespread use also endangers biodiversity. The commissioned food laboratory also found traces of this in five fruit mueslis.
Other critical substances also in organic muesli
In addition, some mueslis are contaminated with mineral oil components – even organic mueslis contain aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH). “Carcinogenic compounds can also belong to this group of substances. Food should therefore be free of MOAH as a precaution,” writes ÖKO-TEST. The assumption: The mineral oil components could have got into the muesli ingredients from packaging or lubricating oils on machines.
The laboratory commissioned by ÖKO-TEST also verified saturated mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH). “MOSH accumulate in the human body. The consequences of this is still unclear,” says the report.
Too much sugar in the cereal
On the other hand, there is scientific consensus that too much sugar is unhealthy. The note “no added sugar” says nothing about the actual sugar content. Some mueslis consist of a quarter or more of sugar without sugar, cane sugar or glucose syrup appearing in the list of ingredients. The sweetness comes mainly from the dried fruits contained.
For six mueslis in the test, the following applies: Even a 50-gram serving contains more sugar than the World Health Organization (WHO) considers to be harmless to health even for an adult. For children, the magazine recommends mueslis with no more than 15 percent sugar.
To the detailed report at ÖKO-TEST