Sunflower oil is often and willingly used in the kitchen – if you currently get a bottle of oil at all. But just because oil is currently scarce doesn’t mean you should go for just any. Because ÖKO-TEST sometimes finds massive unwanted loads here.
Even if things look different at the moment: Sunflower oil has long since ceded the throne as the most popular edible oil to olive oil, rapeseed oil and the like. Due to the high proportion of double unsaturated fatty acids, it is only conditionally healthy. They can build up in the arteries and gradually clog them.
Nevertheless, sunflower oil is in most kitchen cupboards and is regularly used in cooking. In this case, you should make sure that you use high-quality sunflower oil.
ÖKO-TEST tested a total of 21 of the oils, including nine refined and twelve cold-pressed products. Both the test in the laboratory and the taste test by the sensory experts show that only sunflower oil can achieve the rating “very good”. Nine other oils are rated “good”. Six products are still “satisfactory”. It looks bad for the tail lights of the test: A total of four oils cut “poor”, one drugstore product falls through – “insufficient” is the verdict.
Note: The test first appeared in issue 08/2021.
Read the detailed test report for a fee at ÖKO-TEST
ÖKO-TEST: Only one sunflower oil “very good”
the test winner among the sunflower oils is the cold-pressed one Bio Planète sunflower oil native classic. The oil scores “very good” in all categories. The laboratory found traces of mineral oil components and PAH here, but only in insignificant amounts. In the overall ranking, the Bio Planète oil is the only one with the rating “very good” and thus secures first place. For You pay around 4.50 euros for 500 milliliters.
The second place secures a much cheaper oil. The cold-pressed Alnatura organic sunflower oil costs 500 milliliters around 1.80 euros. The traces of mineral oil components are slightly higher here, but the oil scores “good” in the overall rating.
Also a Supermarket Product can place itself at the top: Das Rewe organic sunflower oil costs 1.90 euros per 500 milliliters and, in addition to the very good taste experience, also scores with good ingredients. Although the laboratory also measured slightly increased mineral oil values here, there was not a single oil in the test in which traces of mineral oil components were not found.
You should keep your hands off these sunflower oils
In some of the sunflower oils tested, the laboratory not only detected traces but also “greatly increased” levels of carcinogenic substances and mineral oil components. So the following only perform “inadequate”:
- Cold-pressed sunflower oil Dennree
(Ingredients: “poor”, taste: “very good”) - Good organic sunflower oil native cold-pressed by Aldi south
(Ingredients: “sufficient”, taste: “sufficient”) - Pure Sunflower Oil penny
(ingredients: “poor”, taste: “good”) - Thomy Pure Sunflower Oil from Nestlé
(Ingredients: “poor”, taste: “very good”)
One of the products tested was even rated “unsatisfactory”: Cold-pressed from organic sunflower oil dm you should keep your hands off. The testers not only rate the taste as “sufficient” and describe it as “slightly chemical”, the laboratory can even confirm this assessment. The mineral oil components are not only increased here, the experts also find the mold toxin alternariol monomethyl ether in the oil. There is no legal limit for this yet, but cell studies show that the toxin damages the genetic material.
You can read more test results as well as information and tips about sunflower oil for a fee at ÖKO-TEST.
Read the detailed test report for a fee at ÖKO-TEST