Chickpea hummus, 8 products compared

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Among summer sauces, chickpea hummus has a prominent place. It accompanies tomato salads well and provides fiber and protein. However, sometimes it also contains additives and too much salt. Our market survey considers the 8 products under the brands Carrefour, Coop, Esselunga, Io Veg, Kasih, Love, Noa, Zorbas.

Chickpea hummus, the do-it-yourself and industrial recipe

The do-it-yourself recipe is simple, just mix in the right proportion boiled chickpeas, tahin (toasted and ground sesame seeds), garlic, extra virgin olive oil, lemon and a pinch of paprika. Doing without salt, possIbly. (1)

Instead, industrial chickpea hummus-at prices ranging from 13 to 22 euros/kg-contains extra ingredients and additives, just as we have already seen with another Mediterranean summer condiment, tzatziki sauce. (2)

The extra ingredients compared to the traditional recipe are brown sugar (Noa), onions and grape vinegar (Zorbas)

Preservatives and acidifiers

The three food additives added in the sample of products examined are:

  • Potassium sorbate (E 202), present in 2 products (Love and Zorbas). It is a widely used preservative in the food industry, still free from food safety concerns. And it is indeed difficult to reach the EFSA-defined acceptable daily intake (ADI) for the sorbates group (E202 and E 200, sorbic acid) of 11 mg/kg body weight. (3)
  • citric acid (E 330), used as an acidifier in half of the sample (Love, Noa, Coop, Kasih), is instead replaced by Zorbas with lactic acid (E 270). The synthetic version of citric acid can cause allergy, mycotoxin exposure, and tooth damage. Especially among hardened consumers of carbonated and orange-flavored beverages, where it is ubiquitous as seen,
  • guar gum (E 412), added in Carrefour’s organic hummus. This thickener, which is widely used in industrial foods, can cause intestinal disorders (bloating, flatulence, laxative effect) in high doses.

Oil and salt

Extra virgin olive oil is the ideal fat for this sauce typical of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. In the industrial recipe we find it in only 5 out of 8 samples.

EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) is the only (organic) oil used in Coop’s organic hummus. In other cases it appears as

– first, followed by sesame seed oil in Esselunga hummus,

– second after sunflower oil, in 3 cases (Love, Io Veg, Carrefour)

Two other samples contain a mix of soybean and sunflower (Zorbas) or refined olive oil (Noa). While Jordanian Kasih does not add any fat. The latter product is free of saturated fats, where they vary in other products from 0.8 percent in Coop to 3.9 percent in Zorbas.

Salt is always added, in varying concentrations. From 0.71 g/100g in Coop to 2 grams/100 g in Love.

The mystery of the chickpeas

The origin of the ingredients is unknown. Only Love indicates the Italian origin of chickpeas and lemon. Otherwise, the foreign sourcing of chickpea is a given, which is also a disadvantage for Italian agricultural soils, as well as for the national agricultural economy.

It is also difficult to tell the actual amount of chickpeas used in the sauce. The generality of producers indicate only the amount of boiled chickpeas, including water, in the proportion of 45 to 68 percent. Outlaw QUID. In fact, the Quantitative ingredient declaration must be referred to only the highlighted ingredient, chickpeas, as opposed to the finished product. And not instead to the compound ingredient (boiled chickpeas).

Exceptions are Coop and German Noa. Coop indicates boiled chickpeas, 55%, with 45% legume. Instead, Noa reports 60% boiled chickpeas, of which chickpeas would be 27%. In both cases, a double QUID to correct. (4)
Finally, Jordanian Kasih indicates the presence of chickpeas in 10 percent of the product.

How much fiber in hummus

The concentration of valuable dietary fiber ranges from 4 to 5.6 percent.

Above average is Love’s hummus, which comes in at 10 percent due to the addition of an unknown vegetable fiber preparation, referred to as ‘fiber, salt, flavor.’ A mystery in etiquette however to be solved. (5)

Finally, in two cases, Io Veg and Noa, the amount of fiber is concealed, not even the manufacturers’ websites report it.

Protein from legumes

The other expected nutrient in chickpea hummus is protein. The range is from 4.5 to 7.3 percent.

Plant proteins, it is recalled, are recognized to be useful in reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease and premature mortality in general.

Notes

(1) Alessia Calzolari.
How to cook and eat hummus: mistakes to avoid
. Italian cuisine. 24.2.22

(2) Marta Strinati.
Tzatziki sauce, beware of ingredients.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 7/21/22

(3) EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF Panel). Opinion on the follow-up of the re-evaluation of sorbic acid (E200) and potassium sorbate (E202) as food additives. EFSA Journal 2019;17(3):5625. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5625

(4) Dario Dongo.
Compound ingredients and QUIDs on labels, widespread deceptions.
. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 1.6.19

(5) Dario Dongo.
Plant fibers and extracts, which ones?
GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 1.11.17

Marta Strinati
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Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".