Hard discount: good food at low prices?
Regularly, “cheap” food products are singled out. Accused of promote junk food and even overweight, are they really that bad? In 2010, a study by ASEF (Association Santé Environnement France) had tested on three people, and for two weeks, the effects of three modes of food: organic, “classic” and “100% hard discount” based on prepared meals and “first price” products. Scary assessment: the urine of the last witness contained four times as much hippuric acid (a preservative) and palmitic acid (fromPalm oil). The methodology was certainly questionable (only three people entered the test) but the results nevertheless suggest that cheap food is bad for your health. The reality is not so clear …
“Taste is a matter of… taste, but from a nutritional point of view, there is today something very correct in hard discount stores, which was not the case five years ago, especially with regard to the protein / lipid balance “, notes Dr Patrick Serog. Low prices? They can be explained by the fact that the operating costs of hard discounters are lower: store layout designed to make the most of space and shelves, limited number of references, very low cost of human resources (small teams, salaries low…), little publicity. The products are made by an industrialist, according to the specifications of the hard discounter: sometimes a large national brand which dedicates part of its production chains to it, sometimes an SME.
Hard discount or national brands, the quality varies a lot?
For minimally processed products (canned tomatoes, orange juice, etc.), nutritional intakes are generally similar. Regarding prepared meals (ravioli, canned cassoulet, pizza, etc.), the national brands show on average the best compositions, with proportionally more meat or better quality fats.
What about so-called “1st price” products? Within the same product category, the “first prices” are generally the worst. This is where the expensive ingredients are used most sparingly and where we find the most low-end ingredients: glucose-fructose syrup (the most important component in some jams ?!), accused of promote overweight and an increase in triglycerides (fats in the blood), “trans” fatty acids, additives in quantity, wheat or pea proteins in preparations such as nuggets or croquettes to compensate for the low proportion of meat used … “To the point that the question must be asked, asks Dr Patrick Serog. If the price requirement does not allow us to produce better quality, should we not then do away with this range? ”
On the other hand, the quality of hard discount products can now compete with that of private labels, as confirmed by a report from the CNA (National Food Council) of March 2010, the requirements of the specifications of the two categories being comparable.
Hard discount: which foods to favor? Those from basic “raw” groceries (pasta, rice, pulses, etc.), “plain” canned goods, products bearing the organic and Label Rouge labels, unfinished frozen foods (vegetables, fish, etc.) … For other references , you can find good as well as less good, so you have to compare the labels… But like in “classic” supermarkets.
Can we buy meat with confidence?
Recently, the Lidl brand had to withdraw chopped steaks from sale because of the presence of bacteria. This is not the first time that this problem has affected a hard discount or 1st price circuit, even if it also happens elsewhere. Then? “In case of limited budget, advises Dr Patrick Serog, it is better to choose quality red meat and eat less.” Supplement with inexpensive proteins: eggs, lean pork, poultry, certain fish such as sardines, redfish, mackerel, black mullet …
>> To read also: Overweight: eat hard-discount, it is 2 cm more waist size
Hard discount: What to watch out for on the labels?
Avoid those whose ingredient list begins with water, or which contain glucose-fructose syrup, unspecified “vegetable oils”, palm oil and / or “partially hydrogenated” fats.
Check the order of the ingredients, reflecting their quantities. For cookies, prefer those whose list begins with “flour” rather than “sugar”, “syrup” or “fat”.
Compare the protein content between the cheap product and its classic equivalent (ready meals).
* Joly C., Maillot M., Caillavet F., Darmon N., “First-price foods: can we compare them to brand-name foods?”, “Nutrition and dietetic notebooks”, 2007.
What to avoid
-The “1st price” brands: Overall of lower quality than those of hard discount.
– Prepared meals: Generally poorer in “noble” ingredients, compensated for by water, more salt and additives, and lower quality fats.
-Meats: Buy them first from the butcher. In supermarkets, it is without concession: if you buy trays from the fresh section, they should always be from “high-end” brands.
>> To read also: Obesity: know how to spot glucose-fructose syrup
