The list of ingredients is not very appetizing: rice flour, soy or wheat protein, and vegetables for at least two products. There may also be fats, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives or added vitamins. And: Almost all veggie sticks help with the taste with flavorings. At least there is no animal cruelty involved here, but the vegan fish stick is a highly processed product.

“Ökotest” subjected twelve vegan fish stick alternatives to their meticulous test and can ultimately only recommend two products: The vegan sticks from the Iglo line “Green Cuisine” (1.39 euros per 150 g) and the vegan sticks from Kaufland (1 .73 euros). What’s wrong with the others?

When it comes to the taste of most products, one can only guess that they are supposed to be fish sticks. A striking number of germs have spread in the Bofrost and Gutfried brand chopsticks. Overall, Gutfried was the loser in the test: “They were most heavily contaminated with mineral oil components (MOSH/MOSH analogues), which can accumulate in the body, and use diphosphates as raising agents. In the long term, phosphates can damage the kidneys or change the inner walls of the vessels,” writes “Ökotest”. The chopsticks from the brand belonging to the Tönnies meat company fail with “insufficient”. They are no longer on the market either.

Anyone who reaches for veggie sticks is doing something for animal welfare. But as far as the pollutants are concerned, the testers found some carcinogenic fat pollutants in the breading of the vegan sticks. Even if there were fewer than the animal models. On the other hand, the testers found signs of contamination in two products, not an issue with the “real” fish fingers. When it comes to health, fish beats the vegan alternatives because it contains valuable omega-3 fatty acids that are only found in fish and algae.

You can read the whole test here for a fee!