This very popular industrial salty food is sometimes “as sweet as a donut”, according to 60 Million consumers

Although a balanced diet can include industrial products occasionally and in small quantities, it is essential to limit them and not overdo them. Among those that the French are most fond of, an Italian specialty has a dedicated place in their refrigerator: gnocchi. “More than 44,000 tonnes were sold in 2023”recalls the magazine published by the National Institute of Consumption in an article dating from March 2024. But the problem is that these ready-made starchy foods that just need to be pan-fried or coated in sauce, are far away to be the healthiest when they come from industrial production.

As Sophie Goffaux, pharmacist and author of histoiredepates.net, explains, “we are very far from the original recipe” Italian gnocchi and “it is easier to find ravioli or fresh pasta of decent quality than gnocchi” on the shelves of our supermarkets. In addition to being an ultra-processed product that you cannot spot at first glance, it also contains a lot of fat, but also sugar and salt in sometimes excessive quantities. And it is not better for the budget, since it is often sold very expensive in the supermarket compared to the price that it would cost us to make these alternatives to pasta and rice at home. 60 million consumers estimate that industrial gnocchi cost “ten times more expensive in a supermarket than at home”.

Gnocchi, an Italian meal sometimes too sweet

One of the main problems with these industrial foods that are sold under the guise of Italian tradition? They are available in many tempting recipes, fresh or frozen, plain or stuffed, and so “certain references also display very high sugar levels”.

Among the references analyzed by 60 million consumersone contained no less than “8.2 g of sugar per 100 g, as much sugar as a donut or donut!”, specify the results of the investigation. And that’s far from being the only problem with this very popular industrial food that we quickly cook in the evening for dinner.

Frozen or fresh gnocchi from supermarkets: a super salty recipe

The sugar content of industrial gnocchi does not prevent them from also being very rich in salt, which is obviously not ideal for maintaining a healthy and balanced diet when eating gnocchi.

Some contain so much salt that there is “enough to significantly reduce the daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization of 5 g of salt per day for an adult and 2 g for a child”warns 60 Million consumers.

Industrial gnocchi: ultra-processed foods

The quantities of salt and sugar found in industrial gnocchi are only the stigmata of the deeper problem concerning their preparation: these are foods derived from “ultratransformation processes”. In fact, most gnocchi sold in supermarkets have nothing to do with the traditional Italian recipe which is based on crushed potatoes mixed with a little flour and a pinch of salt, sometimes egg yolk, and a little water or olive oil.

In industrial gnocchi sold commercially, the ingredients are very different. To replace freshly cooked potatoes and puree them, for example, manufacturers rely on dehydrated potato flakes and potato starch. Even more surprising, they seem to fill its absence with wheat semolina or rice flour in certain ready-made gnocchi recipes, while gnocchi “drinks wheat flour” but not rice flour. The recipe for supermarket gnocchi is also often full of additives such as emulsifiers, preservatives and acidity regulators.

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