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We choose real butter. The best butter according to Roskachestvo High-quality butter expertise

How many times have we scolded dairy products - there is always something wrong with it, either sour cream with vegetable fats, or cottage cheese with unpleasant bacteria, or oil has problems. And here is another study by Roskachestvo, in which they checked more than 70 different, including regional, brands of traditional oil 82.5%.
And about a miracle! Everything is fine. That is, in fact, everything: if two years ago, in 2016, the microbiology of the oil let us down, now everything is in perfect order - on all 68 safety points. That is, no harmful bacteria, including pathogens, no toxic bacteria, antibiotics.
The fat content did not disappoint either: only 4 out of 74 brands of oil almost reached 82.5 percent fat content, despite the fact that most even slightly stepped over this line. The mass fraction of fat does not correspond to the brands: Bezhin Lug (80%), Selo Zelenoe (79%), Sheksninsky Butter Plant (80%), Goodness farm (79%). The same grades have an increased proportion of moisture (during the production of oil, water is separated from fat, but the manufacturer can leave more moisture in it - this leads to a decrease in fat content and, accordingly, reduces the cost of oil).
But the most amazing - no vegetable fats! No counterfeits found!
So it remains for us to sigh together and joyfully, without fear to buy oil with a fat content of 82.5 percent of any brands.
THE BEST
According to the results of all studies, 22 products out of 74 became the best oil on the Russian market - their quality exceeds the current GOSTs: Cheburashkin Brothers (claims to be the Quality Mark as the best), Asenievskaya Farm, Brest-Litovsk, Volgorod Traditions , "A House in the Village", "Karat", "Crossroads", "The Right Oil", "Prostokvashino", "Rovenki", "Ruzskoye", "Savushkin", "Thousand Lakes", "Ilinskoye Estate", "Farm", Ecomilk, Traditional Ecomilk, Arla Natura, Belorus export, Fine Life, Gudberg, Lattesco.
Moreover, two years ago, three brands (“Correct Oil”, “Thousand Lakes” and Arla Natura) had violations of some parameters. The market is changing, manufacturers are monitoring the quality!
Experts recommend: how to choose the right traditional butter 1. Storage temperature.
To prevent any pathogenic bacteria from starting to develop in the oil, the storage temperature must be correct at all stages - from production to the store counter. On the store shelf, it should not exceed +6 degrees.
2. The price does not affect the taste
But the fat content and safety - the cost can affect. So the cheapest (78.5 rubles per 100 g) has violations in fat content and moisture.
The most delicious oil, according to professional tasters, was Korovka from Korenovka (87.2 rubles per 100 g, Krasnodar Territory) - it is also the cheapest among oils that fully meet quality requirements.
Behind him in the ranking of the most delicious butter is Cheburashkin Brothers (88 rubles per 100 g; MO).
The third place in the top three of the highest quality, but inexpensive - "Nostalgia" (93.89 rubles per 100 g; Saratov region).
3. Foil is better than parchment
Foil, compared to the more “fashionable” parchment, provides better preservation of the oil, as it delays the evaporation of moisture. The foil also protects the product from photo-oxidation. It is because of the light that oxidative processes begin to occur in the oil, due to which a staff appears - a translucent yellow or simply a layer of a different color on the surface of the oil.

82 samples of butter with a fat content of 72.5% purchased in eight federal districts of our country. Some of them have been fully tested and comply with the Standard.

There are also outsiders - the oil in the package is adjacent to mold and antibiotics. We will name them a little later, but for now we will figure out which product can be called high-quality butter.

What is inside

According to GOST-32261, butter must contain at least 72% fats of animal origin. Ideally, the composition of the product should not contain anything other than cream. Premium brand names usually say so on the packaging - "made with cream" or "made with pasteurized cream."

The product may also contain additives - salt and ferment of lactic acid organisms.

As part of the Krestyanskoye oil, you can also find natural dyes: carotene (it is obtained from carrot extract) or annatto (additive E160b) - squeezed from the seeds of the Bix orellana tree. These substances are used to give the oil a yellowish tint.

The content of antibiotics (even their traces) is not allowed in butter. According to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union, it should also not contain nitroimidazoles and nitrofurans.

The taste of the oil is pleasant, creamy. The appearance of acid or bitterness indicates that the product began to deteriorate due to problems with raw materials or violations of production technology. Uninvited guests may also be in such oil - fungi or bacteria of the Escherichia coli group.

How to choose

When choosing butter, pay attention to the temperature at which the product is stored on the shelf in the store. It must be within the limits specified by the manufacturer.

The packaging must be intact, undamaged - after all, under the influence of light, the fat contained in the oil begins to oxidize, a rich yellow film appears on the surface, the product acquires a characteristic rancid taste.

Also, experts recommend choosing products that were both produced and packaged at the same factory - this is evidenced by the information about the manufacturer on the packaging. If there are two legal entities, then it is possible that the finished and still unpackaged butter was transported from place to place (and was stored in an unknown way).

Manufacturer rating


According to the results of the study, 19 samples out of 82 tested received the highest rating from experts. The maximum score from the possible ones was received by the butter of the following brands:

    "Tommoloko" (Belgorod region) - the leader of the voting, was awarded the Quality Mark;

    "Privolzhsky dairy plant" (Nizhny Novgorod region);

    "Choice of the hostess" (Ulyanovsk region);

    "Kungur" (Perm Territory);

    "Nytvenskoye" (Perm Territory);

    "Vemol" (Perm Territory);

    "Vyatushka" (Kirov region);

    "Stozhok" (Udmurt region);

    "Peasant" (LLC Firm "Kaloria") (Krasnodar Territory);

    "Shepherd" (Republic of Dagestan);

    "Peasant" (JSC "Moloko") (Kaliningrad region);

    "Cote de France" (Kaliningrad region);

    "Milk Tale" (Kemerovo region);

    "Every day" (own brand AUCHAN);

    Fine Life (Metro Cash&Carry own brand);

    "Prostokvashino" (Moscow region);

    "Vkusnoteevo" (Rostov region);

    "Kozelskoye living" (Kaluga region);

    "House in the village" (Vladimir region).

The outsiders included trademarks whose product composition differs from that stated on the packaging.

Some manufacturers have deliberately reduced fat content by increasing the amount of moisture, others have replaced animal fats with vegetable fats, passing off the spread as butter.


So, vegetable fats were found in the products of 10 brands: Appetizing All Year Round (MO), Budennovskmolprodukt (Stavropol Territory), Volzhanochka (Volgograd Region), Peasant from Bashkiria (Chelyabinsk Region), Love Product "(MO), "Seryshevsky" (Amur region), "Sulimovskoye" (Chelyabinsk region), "Sulimovskoye" Bashkirskoye "" (Chelyabinsk region), "TD Smetanin" (MO) and "What you need!" (MO).

Experts found pathogens of intestinal infections in some oil samples.

Although, for the sake of fairness, it must be emphasized that such violations can be associated not only with sanitary conditions at work, but also with violations of the storage, transportation and sale at the point of sale. At the same time, products were purchased only in those outlets where the temperature regime was strictly observed.

According to test results:

    Bacteria of the E. coli group were found in the butter of seven brands: Green Agro (MO), Irbitskoye (Sverdlovsk Region), Stavropolsky Dairy Plant (Stavropol Territory), Omsk Quality Mark (Omsk Region) , "Very Important Cow" (Tatarstan), "Semyonishna" (Krasnoyarsk Territory) and "Creamy Morning" (Altai Territory).

    An increased number of bacteria (KMAFAnM) was recorded in the products of four brands: Green Agro (MO), Stavropol Dairy Plant (Stavropol Territory), Omsk Quality Mark (Omsk Region) and Semenishna (Krasnoyarsk Territory) .

    Yeast and mold experts found in the oil "Polar Bear" (Rostov region).

Preservatives, traces of sorbic acid, were found in four samples. This butter is of the following brands:

    "Love product" (Moscow region)

    "Oil farm" (Chelyabinsk region)

    "Pestravka" (Samara region)

    "Omsk quality mark" (Omsk region)

In butter brand "Summer meadow" (Orenburg region), experts recorded an increased content of the antibiotic penicillin.

Not all butter producers in Russia, however, as in other countries, offer customers high-quality products made from natural ingredients and meeting quality standards. Unscrupulous companies often replace milk fat with vegetable fat, allow the presence of pathogenic microorganisms and other falsifications.

How to determine safe and high-quality butter?

It is very difficult for an ordinary consumer to determine which product is better to buy. Sometimes a real-looking and tasting product purchased at a local store not only does not bring benefits, but also poses a potential danger to the buyer. Reliable data on the quality of products can only be obtained through laboratory research.

Roskachestvo tested oil with a fat content of 82.5%. It was attended by 64 samples made by Russian and Belarusian enterprises on the latest equipment for the production of butter. Various brands of high-quality butter were tested for six dozen parameters that affect the safety and quality of the product.

What butter can be called natural?

Natural butter should contain only dairy components (fats, cream, etc.). Replacing animal fats with vegetable fats can reduce the cost of production. However, according to current standards, a product with the addition of palm, coconut or any other vegetable component should be called "spread" or "margarine" (depending on the components contained).

According to the results of laboratory studies, the falsification of the composition is allowed only by six manufacturers of butter in Russia, including LAV, Russian milk, Rzhevushka.

microbial hazard

Natural butter is a perishable product, so researchers paid special attention to microbiological indicators. Exceeding the permissible norms may indicate both non-compliance with sanitary requirements in production and a violation of the storage regime. Therefore, Roskachestvo inspectors made purchases at trusted retail outlets, where the regime for storing food products is strictly observed.

It should be noted that the most significant microbiological indicators are the content of Escherichia coli, mold fungi, yeast, as well as the total microbial number. As the study showed, not all brands of high-quality butter carefully monitor compliance with these standards. So, according to the content of E. coli, the products of Baltkom, Iz Vologda, Prosto, Malkom were recognized as potentially dangerous. According to the total microbial number - Meadow Freshness, Oka-River, Danke Anke, Malkom. According to the norm of mold and yeast - Oka-Reka, Dairy style, Danke Anke.

The highest quality butter

The group of goods with a quality mark included only two brands: Lattesco and Ruzskoe. This is a really high-quality butter that even meets advanced Russian standards, the implementation of which is optional.

The title of "High Quality Product" was given to 16 producers of natural butter. Among them:

  • Asenievskaya farm;
  • House in the village;
  • Farm;
  • Belarusian export;
  • other.

The full rating of brands can be viewed on the official research page.

Thanks to the study, now every consumer knows how to choose high-quality butter and which brands should be preferred. This is the mission of the operator of the Russian State Quality Mark, created to create sustainable consumer preferences for manufacturers that can be trusted.

As part of a rolling study, Roskachestvo studied butter with a 72.5% fat content of 82 brands, the total market share of which is more than 70%. Tests were carried out on 23 quality and safety indicators. The goods were purchased in the regions of eight Russian federal districts: Far Eastern, Volga, North-Western, North Caucasian, Siberian, Urals, Central and Southern. The cost of butter at the time of purchase was from 59.88 to 299.99 rubles. per package (the study presented products in packages from 170 to 500 grams) and from 33.3 to 92.4 rubles. for 100 grams. According to the test results, the products of 19 brands will be able to qualify for the Russian Quality Mark.

RUSSIAN QUALITY SYSTEM STANDARD

The standard of the Russian quality system, in comparison with the current GOST (GOST 32261-2013 "Butter. Specifications") imposes more stringent requirements on the thermal stability of the product applying for the State Quality Mark. The thermal stability index of an oil determines the amount of time a product will not lose its shape at room temperature. Also, in the Roskachestvo standard for butter, the requirements of TR TS 033/2013 for the content of antibiotics have been tightened. Butter is not allowed to contain antibiotics even in trace amounts and, in addition to the antibiotics included in the technical regulations of the Customs Union, it should not contain nitroimidazoles and nitrofurans. The level of localization of production for the award of the Russian Quality Mark to butter must be at least 85%.

Less fat, more moisture

According to GOST "Peasant" butter must contain at least 72.5% fat.

Reference:

On the packaging of butter, we can find such definitions as “Peasant”, “Amateur”, “Traditional”, and even “Sandwich” and “Tea”. These definitions are not mere oil names or epithets. These are classes of butter depending on its mass fraction of fat (set by GOST).

  • "Traditional"- mass fraction of fat 82.5%.
  • "Amateur"- mass fraction of fat 80%.
  • "Peasant"- mass fraction of fat 72.5%.
  • "Sandwich"– mass fraction of fat 61%.
  • "Tea"– mass fraction of fat 50%.

However, some manufacturers can reduce the cost of butter by reducing the amount of fat and increasing the amount of moisture in the product. The average consumer, of course, will not feel it. But who likes to pay for one product, but in fact get another, and cheaper? According to the test results, Roskachestvo identified 9 manufacturers that violated consumer rights to reliable labeling. In their oil, the amount of fat was less than stated:

  1. "Kuban milkman", Krasnodar region.
  2. "Health from the Foothills", Krasnodar region.
  3. "Pershinskoe", Tyumen region.
  4. "Budennovskmolprodukt", Stavropol region.
  5. "Tyumenmoloko", Tyumen region.
  6. "Yanta", Irkutsk region.
  7. "Charles Yard" Belgorod region.
  8. "Blagoveshchensk Dairy Plant" Amur region.
  9. "Slavmo" Republic of Karelia.

At the output, the butter turned out, of course, no longer “Sandwich”, but also not “Peasant”. The recorded maximum negative deviation of the actual fat content from the declared one was 7%.

The indicator of the mass fraction of moisture is associated with the indicator of the amount of fat. An increased amount of moisture was recorded during tests in oil with a lack of fat.

Fat as much as you need, but he's not the same

Butter is a product made from cow's milk, cream or other milk products. That is, made exclusively from milk fat. If the product contains vegetable fats, it has no right to be called butter: we have a spread in front of us.

Pasteurized cream is indicated in the composition of all studied butter with a fat content of 72.5%. Of course, there are no markings like “spread” or “margarine” on the packaging. But, unfortunately, on the packaging - no, but in reality there are such products.

So, vegetable fats were found in products of 10 brands: "Appetizing all year round"(MO), "Budennovskmolprodukt"(Stavropol region), "Volzhanochka"(Volgograd region), "Peasant from Bashkiria"(Chelyabinsk region), "Love product"(MO), "Seryshevsky"(Amur region), "Sulimovskoe"(Chelyabinsk region), Sulimovskoe“ Bashkir” » (Chelyabinsk region), "TD Smetanin"(My "What you need!"(MO).

By the way, earlier experts of Roskachestvo have already found vegetable fats in kefir of the Budennovskmolprodukt trademark and butter 82.5% Love Product. As you can see, these manufacturers did not work on the bugs and were again seen in the falsification of their products.

Note that the cost of counterfeit is not always lower than the average cost of oil. And although, for example, the product of the Love Product brand is the cheapest of all the studied products (33.3 rubles per 100 grams), Seryshevsky oil is one of the most expensive oils studied (82.2 rubles per 100 grams). ). So the manufacturer's replacement of milk fat with cheaper vegetable fat does not always affect the cost of production for the consumer.

In addition, the experts noted some interesting facts:

  • On the packaging of the oil "Appetizing all year round" it is indicated: "Made according to GOST from natural cream." As you can see, this striking statement runs counter to the truth.
  • The products of the trademarks “Appetitno all year round” (private trademark (hereinafter - STM. - Note. ed.) networks "Karusel"), "TD Smetanin" (STM network "Magnet") and "That's what you need!" (STM network "OK") one manufacturer - CJSC "Ozeretsky Dairy Plant". As you can see, for the listed private labels, he manufactures counterfeit products. However, the same manufacturer produces butter for TM "Ecomilk" (high-quality and safe), as well as for private label network "METRO Cash & Carry" (Fine Life). Butter Fine Life is recognized as high quality. This suggests that the METRO Cash & Carry retail chain monitors the quality of products under its private label.
  • At butter "That's what you need!" very high fat content. It corresponds to the "Traditional" oil - 82.7 ± 0.7%. It is a pity that the manufacturer has achieved this fat content by adding vegetable fats.
  • Reading the names of the products, the consumer may think that the famous oil from Bashkiria was included in the list of fakes, since among the names of the samples there are “Peasant from Bashkiria” and “Sulimovskoye “Bashkirskoe””. However, both of these oils are produced in the Chelyabinsk region. The first - Chelyab-maslo LLC, the second - IP Timoshkin V.M.

Important!

In turn, in the investigated oil is really Bashkir trademark "Belebeevskoe" violation was detected only by net weight. The actual net weight of this product is 20 grams lower than stated, that is, the manufacturer underweighted 10% of the oil. Otherwise, this oil has no flaws, although its final score was significantly reduced for deceiving the consumer by the mass of the product - it amounted to 4.4 points. By the way, according to the results of the tests, this is the only case of underweight.

To keep the oil from upsetting

Butter is a perishable product. And the use of spoiled butter can lead to intestinal disorders. That is why experts carefully examined the microbiological parameters of the oil.

According to test results:

  • Bacteria of the Escherichia coli group have been found in seven brands of butter: "Green Agro"(MO), "Irbit"(Sverdlovsk region), "Dairy plant“ Stavropol” » (Stavropol region), "Omsk quality mark"(Omsk region), "Very Important Cow"(Tatarstan), "Semyonishna"(Krasnoyarsk Territory) and "Creamy Morning"(Altai region). Previously, the presence of E. coli attracted attention and kefir "Dairy plant" Stavropol ".
  • Increased number of bacteria (QMAFAnM) found in products of four brands: "Green Agro"(MO), "Dairy plant“ Stavropol” » (Stavropol region), "Omsk quality mark"(Omsk region) and "Semyonishna"(Krasnoyarsk region).
  • Yeast and mold experts found in oil "Polar bear"(Rostov region).
  • Staphylococcus aureus and listeria experts did not find in the studied oil.

It is worth mentioning that the listed violations can be associated not only with sanitary conditions at work, but also with violations of the storage, transportation and sale at the point of sale. However, all the studied goods were purchased only in those outlets where the temperature regime was strictly observed.

On the freshness of butter.

The quality of butter can also deteriorate during storage due to spoilage (oxidation) of the fat it contains. And it can start to deteriorate either due to problems with raw materials, or due to violations of the production technology of the product. Such deterioration can affect the taste and smell of the oil. And a wonderful creamy taste can become unpleasant: rancid or sour. The onset of oxidative deterioration can be detected by measuring the acidity value of the fatty phase.

According to the test results, experts found an increased acidity of the fatty phase only in branded butter "Semyonishna"(Krasnoyarsk region). However, the organoleptic characteristics of this product are normal. This fact did not affect the taste and smell in any way. At the same time, an increased number of bacteria and the presence of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group were also recorded in the product of this TM.

"Contains no preservatives." What if you check?

Also according to the test results:

  1. Dyes was not found in butter.
  2. But in the butter of four brands were found preservatives- traces of sorbic acid. Its presence suggests that manufacturers either artificially extended the shelf life of their products, or protected the oil from spoilage. Moreover, the amount of detected sorbic acid varied greatly:
    • "Love product"(Moscow region) - 228.8 (!) mg / kg.
    • "Oil Farm"(Chelyabinsk region) - 50.4 mg / kg.
    • "Pestravka"(Samara region) - 6.4 mg / kg. Note that the packaging of this product states: “100% natural dairy cream. Made from natural, pasteurized cream derived from fresh cow's milk" and featured a tree icon with the phrase "Sustainable Product".
    • "Omsk quality mark"(Omsk region) - 1.7 mg / kg.

What about antibiotics?

In the fight against animal diseases, many farmers or producers themselves resort to antibiotics as a preventive or already curative means. If the veterinary program is not followed, antibiotics can pass into products of animal origin. Particularly in dairy. Roskachestvo experts have already encountered the presence of antibiotics in the study of cheese, cottage cheese, kefir and sour cream.

In general, the situation with antibiotics in butter is not aggravated. Among the 82 studied brands of butter with a fat content of 72.5%, only one violation was found. Penicillin in excess of the allowable amount has been detected in branded oil "Summer Meadow"(Orenburg region).

Trace amounts of the antibiotic streptomycin have been found in 42 brands, but none of these amounts exceed legal limits. In the oil of five brands, the presence of antibiotics of the tetracycline group was also recorded, four - amphenicols, three - penicillin, but - similarly - in quantities not exceeding the norms.

Since the amount of antibiotics in the butter of these brands does not exceed the norms established by the technical regulations, formally the manufacturers of these products will not be considered violators, but these products will not be able to qualify for the Russian Quality Mark.

Not in the fridge means out of shape

For whether butter retains its shape at room temperature or not, its heat resistance is responsible. On the one hand, butter with low heat resistance is easier to spread on a sandwich. On the other hand, it is believed that the ability of butter to keep its shape is one of the signs of its quality.

Talks about heat resistance Executive Secretary of the Dairy Union of Russia Larisa Abdullaeva

Heat resistance is more of a production characteristic. There is no such quality indicator in international standards for oil; this is a purely Russian tradition.

Thermal stability depends on the production methods, of which there are two: churning and transformation. Butter produced by the churning method (classic method) is harder, holds its shape better, but it will be worse spread on a sandwich. Oil produced by the conversion method (using more modern equipment) will be less heat resistant, softer and better spreadable.

The indicator of heat resistance is important first of all for the manufacturer, it helps him to control the release of the packaged product, which will retain its shape, will not look unpresentable, wrinkled during its storage and sale. But the quality of the product - its taste, smell; more important indicators of nutritional and energy value will also remain on top. Thus, it cannot be said that these products are bad. They are of high quality, but one must be prepared for the fact that a pack of oil will not always be ideal in terms of geometric shape: it may be slightly irregular in shape, slightly wrinkled after transportation and storage on a store shelf.

Also this score depends on other factors.: what milk is butter made from(the composition of milk varies slightly in different breeds of cows, depending on the feed that the cow eats), when was the oil produced(summer oil is less heat-resistant, it is softer than winter oil) and, of course, how oil is produced.

As the results of the study showed, there are no violations in thermal stability among butter with a fat content of 72.5%. However, the products of 40 brands did not meet the advanced requirements of the Roskachestvo standard.

It should be noted that the results of tests of butter with a fat content of 82.5%, published earlier by Roskachestvo, revealed 11 violators in this parameter. They violated the rights of consumers to reliable labeling, indicating GOST 32261-2013 in it, but in reality they did not comply with it.

In total, as part of the rolling study of Roskachestvo, according to 68 quality and safety indicators, butter of 74 brands was studied, 64 of which went for testing in 2016, and 10 in 2018. The sample included the most popular federal and regional brands among Russians. Most of the products were manufactured in Russia, with the exception of the oil of six Belarusian brands. The cost of one package of oil was from 80 to 300 rubles at the time of purchase (in the study, products were presented in packages from 100 to 500 g). According to the results of laboratory tests, oil from 22 brands was recognized as high-quality products that meet not only the mandatory requirements, but also the increased requirements of the Roskachestvo Standard: Asenievskaya Farm, Cheburashkin Brothers, Brest-Litovsk, Volgorod Traditions, Domik v Village”, “Karat”, “Crossroads”, “Right Oil”, “Prostokvashino”, “Rovenki”, “Ruzskoye”, “Savushkin”, “Thousand Lakes”, “Ilyinskoye Estate”, “Farm”, “Ekomilk”, Ecomilk Traditional, Arla Natura, Belorus export, Fine Life, Gudberg, Lattesco. The quality mark has already been assigned to butter under the Ruzskoye, Ferma and Lattesco trademarks. Oil Belorus export, "Brest-Litovsk" and "Savushkin" is produced in Belarus, which means that it cannot qualify for the Russian Quality Mark.

RUSSIAN QUALITY SYSTEM STANDARD

The standard of the Russian Quality System, in comparison with the current GOST (GOST 32261-2013 "Butter. Specifications") imposes more stringent requirements on the safety of a product applying for the State Quality Mark, in particular on the content of yeast and mold.

In terms of product quality, the thermal stability index of the oil has been increased, which determines the amount of time during which the product does not lose its shape at room temperature. Only fresh oil can be considered a product worthy of the Quality Mark; for this, the indicator for peroxide value has also been increased compared to GOST. The level of localization of production for awarding the Quality Mark to butter with a mass fraction of fat of at least 82.5% must be at least 85%.

The 82.5% fat butter study has become one of the most popular and studied tests by consumers. Letters come to Roskachestvo with requests to investigate the oil of various brands: federal and regional, large and local. That is why we decided to make the study regular and supplement it with the results of testing oils of new brands.

Traditional or amateur?

Which butter is best? When buying oil in a store, few consumers think about how reliable the information on the label is. Traditional butter according to GOST must contain at least 82.5% fat. During the oil production process, water is separated from fat, but the manufacturer may leave more moisture in it than the standard requires. This leads to a reduction in the fat content and, accordingly, reduces the cost of the oil. Ultimately, the consumer suffers: although in the case of an ordinary sandwich, the difference between amateur and traditional butter will be noticeable only to gourmets, when creating a complex confectionery, insufficient fat content of butter can easily become the cause of a failed dish. In the course of the study, Roskachestvo identified 12 manufacturers that violated consumer rights to reliable labeling. Of these, 8 were discovered in 2016, 4 - according to the results of a new test in 2018.

Some manufacturers did not hesitate and reduced the fat content of the oil by 10%, in fact, passing off peasant oil as traditional.


For reference

As the study showed, many manufacturers use names associated with the place of origin of the unique national product - Vologda oil. It is important to understand here that there is a patented name and a fantasy one. Real Vologda butter necessarily has the same origin and is distinguished by a specific taste with nutty notes that appear due to the peculiarities of the technology: cream is prepared under the influence of high temperatures.

Palm tree oil

Real butter is made exclusively from milk fat, using cow's milk, cream and other milk products. If non-dairy fats, in particular vegetable fats, are added to the oil, then this is completely other product .

The addition of vegetable fats can significantly reduce the cost of oil production. Laboratory tests for this indicator for maximum accuracy were carried out by Roskachestvo not only according to the methodology included in GOST, but also with a test for the presence of phytosterols in the fatty phase of the oil. This technique is included in the test program to finally confirm the results. The detection of phytosterols in the composition of the product unequivocally indicates the presence of vegetable fats and confirms the substitution of milk fat from butter with fats of non-dairy origin.

According to the results of a study in 2016, in the oil of five brands, experts identified falsification in composition. These are branded products. "Vologda Meadows", "Milk farm", "Milky Style", "Rzhevushka", "Russian milk".

But the new brands studied in 2018 did not have this problem. None of the 10 manufacturers replaced dairy fats with vegetable fats in their product.

For reference

Butter can be either sweet cream or sour cream. It is quite difficult to find the latter on sale: a rare Russian consumer prefers a specific taste with sourness to the traditional taste of sweet cream butter. The difference between these two types lies in the production technology. Sweet cream butter is produced from fresh cream, and sour cream butter is produced from cream fermented with lactic starters.

Way to the microbe!

Butter is highly perishable, so it's no surprise that one of the most common problems is microbiological deficiencies that can potentially lead to an eating disorder.

It should be emphasized that violations of microbiological indicators can be associated not only with sanitary conditions at work, but also with violations of the storage, transportation and sale in the distribution chain. It should be noted that Roskachestvo experts purchased all the studied samples only in those outlets where the temperature regime was strictly observed, and information about all violations of the storage regime identified during the procurement was transferred to the control and supervisory authorities.

E. coli is present in every organism, and it does not bear any consequences for human health, as long as the indicator does not exceed the natural number of these bacteria. When the norm is exceeded, symptoms of dysbacteriosis or an eating disorder appear. It is important to understand that a person can eat oil with an increased number of E. coli bacteria and in general will feel fine, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the organism. Children and people with weakened immune systems are at risk: in their case, the likelihood of getting an eating disorder due to a poor-quality product increases significantly.

In terms of the content of E. coli, branded oil is recognized as a potentially unsafe product that does not comply with the uniform rules of the Customs Union "Baltcom", "Milkmaid", , "Hut", "Oka River", OOO "Nevskie syry", "Ostankino", "Just", "The Joy of Taste", "Russian milk", "Smetanin", "Farm", Danke Anke, Malkom, Shannon Gold.

The total microbial contamination (or the number of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms, abbreviated QMAFAnM) along with E. coli is one of the indicators of the microbiological safety of the product. A high QMAFAnM indicator indicates the onset of spoilage processes and, in general, the potential unsafety of the product.

According to the KMAFAnM indicator, butter was recognized as not complying with the technical regulations and potentially unsafe "Milkmaid", "From Vologda" (JSC "Northern Milk"), "Hut", "Meadow freshness", "Oka River", OOO "Nevskie syry", "Ostankino", "Just", "Farm", Danke Anke, Malkom.

Another massive violation of microbiological safety, according to the results of laboratory tests, was the presence of mold and yeast in the oil. Mold fungi secrete substances dangerous to humans - mycotoxins.

In terms of mold and yeast content, oil of the following trademarks was recognized as not complying with the technical regulations and potentially unsafe: "Milkmaid", "Milky Style", "Oka River", OOO "Nevskie syry", "Ostankino", "The Joy of Taste", "Farm", Danke Anke.

By the way, all microbiological violations were recorded in 2016. Roskachestvo is constantly working with manufacturers and retail chains to improve the mode of transportation and storage of products. It is gratifying that in 2018, experts did not encounter violations in “microbiology”.

Also, each of the samples presented in the study was also examined for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria. But their experts have not found.

Important! Signs of microbiological damage are not always clearly expressed: often visually, as well as in color and smell, such oil can practically not give itself away. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the conditions for the sale of the product and look at its expiration date. Buy oil only in those stores where the temperature is respected. On the counter of the store where the butter is located, the temperature should be from +2 to +6 ° C. At any first signs of spoilage - a sour taste, uneven color - feel free to throw away the oil. Don't even use it for baking. Of course, heat treatment partially kills the microflora, but a product that has undergone oxidative deterioration can give the finished baked product an unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, you need to pay attention to the staff - a dark yellow or just a layer of a different color on the surface of the oil. Its presence indicates that the oil was stored incorrectly.

keep fit

Professional confectioners know that the quality of a cream largely depends on the quality of the butter, primarily on its structure, consistency and heat resistance. And if there were practically no complaints about the first two characteristics *, then in terms of thermal stability, not everything went smoothly.

* Five brands of oil are quite loose, and one is layered. Deficiencies in consistency are not violations, however, these products are deprived of the opportunity to qualify for the Russian Quality Mark.

For reference

The thermal stability of butter characterizes its ability to retain its shape at room temperature. To determine the heat resistance, a cylinder with a diameter and a height of 20 mm is cut from a block of butter and left at a temperature of 30 ° C for two hours. This process is called "thermostating". Then the experts measure the ratio of the initial diameter of the studied oil sample to the average diameter of the base of the sample after thermostating. High-quality oil after two hours should retain its shape well. For the consumer, this indicator characterizes the quality of the product. Note that it is impossible to conduct such an experiment at home, since the temperature must remain at the same level (30 ° C) throughout this time.

The thermal stability index is included both in GOST and in the increased Roskachestvo standard. The oil of trademarks "Alantal", "Baltkom", "Belarus", "Vkusnoteevo", "Vologodka", "Vologda Meadows", "Izbenka", "From Vologda" (JSC "Educational and Experimental Dairy plant VGMHA named after N.V. Vereshchagin"), "Milier", "Mu-u". In 2018, to the listed trademarks were added Agrocomplex, Bezhin Lug And "Sheksninsky Butter Plant".

This is a violation of consumer rights to reliable labelling.

For reference

It is better to buy butter in foil. Foil, compared to the more “fashionable” parchment, provides better preservation of the oil, as it delays the evaporation of moisture. The foil also protects the product from photo-oxidation. It is because of the light that oxidative processes begin to occur in the oil, due to which a staff appears - a translucent yellow or simply a layer of a different color on the surface of the oil.