Kitchen Hygiene
How can I best store Garden Gourmet products?
Products should be transported and stored according to requirement on the label until prepared.
How to prepare your dishes in the best cooking environment?
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Wipe down/prep surfaces before beginning to cook: Cleaning your cooking environment is important as it helps to remove any dirt, bacteria, or germs that may be present on the surface of your kitchen countertops, tables or cooking appliances. Make sure to wipe them with a cloth using soap.
- Wash your hands before cooking: Your hands come into contact with many surfaces, and can easily accumulate bacteria and other germs. Wash your hands before you start cooking with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds.
- Keep the product in its original closed packaging until you start cooking: this will keep the product in its protected atmosphere and ready to be cooked!
- Make sure to check the expiration date before you start cooking and only consum
eproducts which are not expired.
- Keep the pack for cooking reference to ensure that you can have a look on the cooking instructions any time and cook the product correctly.
- Different types of food require different preparation methods. Therefore, it is important to follow the cooking instructions provided on the packaging to ensure that you cook the food correctly. Check out our product pages to see the ideal product outcome.
- Do not share utensils between raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and different types of food: Using a different chopping board and knife for raw meat, poultry, and seafood can prevent cross-contamination with other foods such as vegetables.
- Prepare Garden Gourmet product separately: To ensure you cook our products safely to perfection, it is best to prepare them in a separate pan following the on-pack cooking instructions and then incorporate them into your delicious creation.
- Do not reheat leftovers more than once and consume within a day: Leftovers should be kept in the fridge and reheated properly to ensure that they are safe to eat.
Can I prepare a product using different cooking method?
To ensure that the product is cooked safely to perfection and that the integrity of its flavor and texture is maintained, follow the cooking instructions provided on the packaging label.
Can I eat my product after the expiry date?
No, you should not eat the product after the expiry date.
PRODUCTS
Are GARDEN GOURMET products vegan?
Some of them are. Both on our packaging and in our website, we indicate with the corresponding logo which products are vegetarian and which ones are vegan. Besides, on the Products page, you can use the filters to see only the vegan products.
Are GARDEN GOURMET products gluten-free?
Some of our products do not contain gluten in the recipe. However, all our products can contain traces of gluten. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to keep the production of gluten-free products completely separate from those that do contain gluten.
Are GARDEN GOURMET products suitable for children?
They are suitable for children above one year old, but not for babies under that age. Babies under one year old can have a soy allergy and can experience difficulties in digesting the proteins used in our products. In addition, GARDEN GOURMET products contain a small amount of added salt, which is not suitable for young babies.
How long can GARDEN GOURMET products keep after opening?
Consume our products within the same day after opening, store the product in the refrigerator at maximum 7°C. Products should not be consumed later than the date stated on the packaging.
How can I cook GARDEN GOURMET products?
Please check on the packaging the preparation methods and times for each product. Most of our products can be prepared in the oven, frying pan or Airfryer and some of them are also suitable for the BBQ.
Are GARDEN GOURMET products suitable for the barbecue?
The GARDEN GOURMET SENSATIONAL BURGER and SAUSAGE are suitable for preparing on the barbecue, which gives them a delicious grilled flavor. Check the preparation instructions on the package for the exact preparation time, although it can vary depending on your barbecue, so we recommend you to keep an eye on the products as they cook.
Can I freeze GARDEN GOURMET products?
We do not recommend freezing our products since we cannot guarantee the texture and taste will remain the same.
Where are GARDEN GOURMET products made?
The latest establishment of the Garden Gourmet Surčin factory in Serbia, a second dedicated production site in Europe next to the existing factory Krupka in Czech Republic, will enable insourcing and production of almost the entire portfolio. This opens new opportunities to deliver tasty and nutritious plant-based innovation and consumer favorites.
What are GARDEN GOURMET products made of?
Most of our products contain soy and wheat proteins. We also use a wide variety of vegetables, legumes and grains. To spice things up, we add some herbs and spices that complete our recipes.
Why do you use soy in your products?
We use soy protein because it is a high quality protein*. This means it contains all the essential amino acids that our bodies cannot create, and thus we need to obtain from food. Moreover, soy protein is very digestible.
*True Protein Digestibility Value of Common Foods. Federal Register. 1993, Vol. 58, No. 3, 2193-2195.
Recommended amino acid scoring patterns for infants, children and older children, adolescents and adults, FAO 2013
How do you process the soy beans into your products?
We use non-genetically modified (non-GM) Textured Soy Protein (TSP). TSP is obtained from soybeans that are defatted, cooked under pressure and dried. This process gives soy a fibrous texture that looks very much like meat. Intrinsically, TSP does not have much flavour. This makes it a very exciting protein ingredient, as we can add spices and herbs to create a very tasty and nutritious product.
Where does the soy in GARDEN GOURMET products come from?
Our soy protein is sourced from USA (50%) and Europe (50%) for products produced in our factories in Krupka.
What is methylcellulose and why do you use it in some of your products?
Methylcellulose is a plant-derived fibre that we use to replace egg in some our products. A small amount of methylcellulose helps blend all ingredients together, keeping the firmness and juiciness of our products. It is totally safe to consume.
NUTRITION
What’s the so-called Nutri-Score and why do you use it to label your products?
Nutri-Score is a color-coded nutrition label that classifies foods and beverages according to their nutritional profile, with a scale from A (healthier choices) to E (less healthy choices). The presence of ingredients such as nuts, fruits, or vegetables, as well as healthy fibers and proteins, favors a better score. On the other hand, high amounts of sugars, salt and saturated fats as well as a high caloric content decrease the score.
We use Nutri-Score on our products because we think it helps make better, informed food choices, based on clear nutritional information. Most of our products already score A or B, but we are continuously striving to improve their nutritional value while keeping the same delicious taste.
Are GARDEN GOURMET products enriched with vitamin B12 and iron?
They are not. Most of our consumers are flexitarians, who can get enough iron and vitamin B12 with a balanced diet. Vegetarians and vegans are at a higher risk of suffering a deficit of vitamin B12, vitamin D and iron, so if you do not consume animal products at all, you should consult your doctor/nutritionist - they might recommend to you to take supplements of these micronutrients.
SUSTAINABILITY
Are GARDEN GOURMET products organic?
No. Unfortunately, due to the availability and prices of organic soy it is not possible to produce affordable organic Garden Gourmet products.
Is the soy used in your products sourced sustainably?
All suppliers of GARDEN GOURMET are verified against the Responsible Sourcing Standard of our parent company Nestlé. All our suppliers – including soybean farmers and traders – need to be compliant with these requirements, including respecting human rights and ensuring that all raw materials sourced from forested areas have not led to deforestation.
In addition, Nestlé is a member of the 'Round Table on Responsible Soy' (RTRS) - a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to facilitate a global dialog on economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally sound soy production.
Is the soy you use in your products genetically modified (GM)?
No, we use Identity Preserved non-genetically modified soy beans. The seal “Identity Preserved” guarantees that the "non-GM" identity of soybeans is preserved through the whole supply chain.
Why do you use plastic in your packaging?
Because we haven’t found yet a better alternative that guarantees the safety of the product. This is crucial not only to ensure the food will stay safe to eat and will keep its best taste until it arrives to your plate, but also to avoid food waste, which is a serious environmental problem.
However, we’re working closely with the Institute of Packaging Sciences of our parent company, Nestlé, which is putting a lot of effort at finding environmentally-friendly packaging materials.
Is your packaging recyclable?
Yes, if disposed in the correct recycling bins. For our chilled range, the plastic tray and top foil should be disposed in the plastic bin, and the carton sleeve, in the paper bin. For our frozen range (sold in the Nordic countries), the carton boxes go in the paper bin, and the bags go in the plastic bin.
We have designed our packaging to facilitate the recycling process and ensure it gets a second life:
- We are switching from our classic green tray to a colorless one, since colorants decrease the value of the recycled materials.
- There are different types of plastics, and we have opted to use polypropylene (PP) because the recycling infrastructure in the countries where we sell our products is better prepared to recycle this material.
- The carton sleeves and cardboard boxes are made from wood coming from European sustainable forests.
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