Basil, Parsley, Chives
Eating healthy is also possible in winter. For example, when using frozen herbs in the kitchen. They are available in the freezer all year round with appropriate stocks. The shock-frozen goods also contain a large part of their aroma and most of the minerals and vitamins survive the freezing unscathed. And all without washing, snipping or annoying excess.
Sounds tempting, so is it safe to sprinkle the frozen herb garden over food? Not necessarily, because in recent years frozen herbs have repeatedly been the subject of talk of contamination with salmonella or other germs. Öko-Test took this as an opportunity to send 17 deep-frozen herbal mixtures - at prices between 0.43 and 2.45 euros per 50 grams - to the laboratory for testing.
Result? Overall, the testers can recommend seven products with "very good" without reservations, six are still "good". However, Öko-Test completely advises against two herbal mixtures: The "Edeka Bio 8 herbs" and the "Frosta 8 herbs" are the worst products in the test with "poor". The harmful plant toxin, pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), was detected in both products. In fact, in levels that Öko-Test classifies as “greatly increased”.
PA are pollutants that certain plants and fungi produce to protect themselves from predators. However, these are also dangerous for humans because they damage various organs, especially the liver, and in higher doses can even lead to the death of liver tissue. In animal experiments, they proved to be carcinogenic and mutagenic.
Apart from that, no pesticides have been found in organic herbal blends. In all nine conventional products, on the other hand, it is. But at least only in traces.
Among other things, the low-priced products "Bio Organic Herbs Italian Style" from Netto, "K-Bio 6-Kräuter" from Kaufland and "Naturgut Bio 6-Kräuter-Mix" from Penny for 0.69 euros can be recommended with "very good". . Just like the "All Seasons 8 herbs" from Aldi Nord/Süd for only 0.57 euros.
