Supermarket Genovese Pesto Often Contains Cheaper Ingredients Instead of Original Recipe
Greenpeace demands clear labelling: If "Genovese" is written on it, only the six original ingredients should be included. "Unfortunately, it often happens that manufacturers produce food cheaply and then sell it at a high price. As can be seen from the example of green pesto, good olive oil and expensive pine nuts are replaced with cheaper vegetable oils and cashews", criticized Gundi Schachl, head of Greenpeace's market check.
Cashews Instead of Pine Nuts: Criticism of Green Pestos from Supermarkets
The original recipe for Pesto Genovese comes from the Italian city of Genoa and contains basil, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan or Italian hard cheese, garlic, and salt. However, many manufacturers use cheaper cashew nuts, sunflower oil, or cheap cheese, according to the criticism. Flavours, basil extract, bamboo and corn fibres, whey powder and milk protein, as well as potato flakes, are also found in many jars. The taste is also often enhanced with a lot of salt.
Genovese Pesto: The Test Winners
Many labels read "Genovese" or "alla Genovese", "but the content usually has little to do with the recipe from Genoa". The Ja Natürlich Bio-Pesto Genovese at Billa and Billa Plus, on the other hand, does justice to the original with its ingredients. The test by the environmentalists was "won" by Interspar - there, the organic share on the shelf is over 35 percent. Overall, 20 percent of all tested pestos come from environmentally friendly organic farming.
(APA/Red.)
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