Chips, Surimi Crabstick and Taramasalata: why are they bad for our health and the environment

Among the must-have appetizers in picnics, chips, surimi crab-sticks and taramasalata are arguably the most popular. These snacks have recently been analyzed by experts in nutrition, environment and toxicology. The record is rather mixed. Let’s see what most reports generally say.

• Chips: very salty and rich in saturated fatty acids, the chips are bad news nutritionally speaking. On the other hand , they contain few additives ; a good characteristic from a toxicological point of view . Best selling brands are also becoming more eco-friendly. Nowadays chips contain less palm oil. However, bags of crisps remain, for the most part, non-recyclable. The alternative? We recommend to try these tasty and healthy alternatives to french fries.
• Surimi Crab-sticks: these small sticks consist of a maximum of 40% of fish flesh. Therefore, they are not high in protein. The crab-stick has between 5 and 10% protein whereas a fish has 20%. But there are some positive points: crab sticks have very few additives, are low calorie and contain no saturated fat.
• Taramasalata: this famous Greek dish, Taramasalata, is very salty and greasy. This famous pink mixture contains more than 60% fat. In addition, additives, preservatives and dyes are usually added to the preparation. The dyes are carcinogenic and contain neurotoxin. The Taramasalata is to be avoided at any cost from a nutritional and toxicological point of view.

These typical choices for a picnic are not as good as they seem to be. Rather adopt a greener and healthier picnic basket. Also take pleasure in the natural surroundings: this will calm your appetite ;-)