Nougats, Polvorones and other typical holiday sweets already fill the shelves of supermarkets and food stores. Also panettones, a bun originally from Italy that is already a classic on Spanish tables. Although the highest quality options are found in bakeries and pastry shops, some consumers choose to buy it in large stores due to its low price.
In order to facilitate the choice for those interested in these industrial products, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has analyzed 16 panettones from various supermarkets, which have been scored based on their labeling, quality of fats, presence of additives, degree of processing, flavor, texture and aroma. “The results are, in general, disappointing,” noted the organization, which in a report has listed the weaknesses of these products.
To begin with, the nutritional assessment is bad or very bad in all panettones, the organization points out. This is due to its high fat content (14%), sugar (26%) and also due to the low quality of the ingredients. The OCU explains that to keep production costs lower, part of the sugars are replaced with glucose or fructose syrups, and that it is also common to use oils such as palm, sunflower, rapeseed or rapeseed instead of butter. coconut, which are less healthy.
The recurrent use of the additive E471, which has an emulsifying function, is another of the drawbacks that the organization highlights about these products. This chemical, they explain, “is not recommended due to its possible impact on the intestinal barrier, which could cause inflammatory problems.”
The industrial practices mentioned negatively influence the final product, they point out, and, therefore, nine of the 16 panettones analyzed have a failure in the study. “According to a panel of professional pastry chefs, it is not uncommon to find dry and poorly fermented dough; as well as strong and even spicy flavors on the tongue and throat due to an excess of artificial aromas.”
In the OCU analysis, there are only two panettones that obtain a good rating in the tasting, both from the El Corte Inglés brand: the normal one (7.85 euros/750 g) and the Selection (13.25 euros/1,000 g). ). The rest, they regret, are surprising due to their excess of aromas, the dryness of the dough and the long shelf life.
Finally, OCU remembers that, as it is a pastry product, its consumption should be occasional and limited. “100 grams of panettone provide 370 Kcal, 20% of the total calories of a daily diet,” they conclude.
