Grocery Outlet Ethical Bargains

The full name for this product is Quorn Vegan Pineapple Chipotle ChiQin Dippers. Actually on the product page they have the word meatless in there too, so it’s actually Quorn Vegan Meatless Pineapple Chipotle ChiQin Dippers. Quorn, you may want to come up with some catchier names for some of your products! I’m just going to call them Quorn pineapple chipotle nuggets for the purposes of this review 😉

I recently mentioned Quorn nuggets in a Green Stars Project post on the most ethical vegan chicken nuggets. In that post I ranked Beyond Chicken tenders and Quorn nuggets as two of my favorites. The Beyond Chicken tenders are more indulgent while the Quorn nuggets are a little healthier and easier on my digestion, so each has their place in my world 🙂

Quorn has started producing more vegan products, replacing the non-vegan ingredient (egg white) with alternative proteins/binding agents. Although I’ve tried other Quorn nuggets – both vegan and vegetarian versions – this was my first time trying the pineapple chipotle nuggets. They are available right now at the Grocery Outlet for only $1.99 for a 300 g box (10.6 oz, three servings) so it’s a good time to try them out.

They are a little softer in texture than the vegetarian Quorn nuggets (or other vegan products such as the Beyond Chicken tenders), which I think is fine – it’s just a different experience (it is what it is!). I think they did a pretty good job with the flavors – both chipotle is subtle and the pineapple even more so. Their subtlety makes them versatile – if you want more spice then serve with a dip that’s dusted with cayenne, chili, charmoula, harissa, or whatever you desire!

I will definitely try these again – in fact I’ll be stocking up on them while on sale at the Grocery Outlet and playing Tetris with my freezer contents to fit them in 🙂 In case you’re wondering, a good amount of my freezer space is occupied by Beyond Burgers, Sophie’s vegan shrimp, and several products that I need to get around to cooking and writing about! A couple of the reasons, besides taste, that makes them a keeper is the nutritional content and packaging – more on these below.

Quorn Vegan Pineapple nuggets – ingredients and nutrition facts

Ingredients: Mycoprotein (44%), Enriched Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Canola Oil, Wheat Starch, Sugar. Contain 2% or less of Salt, Maltodextrin, Chipotle Pepper, Pineapple, Yeast Extract, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda), Wheat Protein Isolate, Potato Protein, Pea Protein, Water, Garlic Powder, Lime, Calcium Chloride, Wheat Gluten, Pea Fiber, Spices, Natural Smoke Flavor, Calcium Acetate, Carrageenan, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Sodium Alginate, Yeast, Natural Flavor, Paprika Extract (color).

Since learning about the importance of not consuming too many omega-6 fats (because they compete with omega-3 fats in our bodies) canola oil has gone up in my estimation a bit (it has a pretty low omega-6 to omega-3 ratio). I normally prefer to see oils listed as expeller-pressed (or, better, organic) in the ingredient list. But Quorn Foods did respond to my inquiry on how the oil is extracted, stating, “The canola oil we use for our products is made by the expressed method of extraction.” The product is labeled non-GMO, so the canola is not engineered for herbicide (e.g., glyphosate) resistance.

If you want to know more about the main ingredient – Mycoprotein – check out my GSP post on Quorn.

Comparing my two favorite vegan chicken nuggets, I find that I can comfortably eat twice as much Quorn compared to Beyond Chicken without feeling any kind of gut discomfort. I think this is because the Quorn product has a healthier nutritional profile – half the fat, and twice the fiber on a weight basis.

Are Quorn boxes for frozen food recyclable?

The other feature that I like about this product is the packaging – it’s just a cardboard box. That’s one of the reasons why I give Quorn nuggets a slightly higher Green Stars rating than other options like Beyond Chicken that are packaged in quite hefty plastic bags. But I wasn’t quite sure if these boxes are readily recyclable – I had to contact Quorn Foods again to find out.

My Question: For your frozen Quorn products that come in boxes, I presume there’s a polyethylene coating on the cardboard – is this correct? So, would you say that the recyclability of these boxes is about the same as for refrigerated milk cartons (e.g., TetraPak)? In other words, it requires a facility that can separate the paperboard from the polyethylene?

Quorn Food’s Answer: Regarding your question, we use a special carton board paper on all frozen cartons called Tambrite Accurate Freeze, this contains a greaseproof barrier (no polyethylene). It protects the carton from degrading and also keeps the product protected. The paper is recycled in the same waste streams as generic paper (a higher recyclability), Tetra Pak uses a special recycling facility to separate the layers of plastic and paper.

So they are widely recyclable, along with the rest of your paper and cardboard, as long as it’s not soiled (a quick brush with your hand of the empty container will remove any lingering crumbs). It does take some time to dig into this stuff – I found some info on sustainability from the company (Stora Enso) that makes the Tambrite paperboard (FSC-certified wood sourcing, avoidance of fossil fuels). But I’m glad I took this time (and thanks to Quorn Foods for their response) – these are questions that niggle me whenever I’m dealing with this kind of packaging and wondering what to do with it.

Ethical ratings for Quorn pineapple chipotle nuggets

I’m scoring Quorn pineapple chipotle nuggets 5/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact for various reasons, many of which I’ve explained in my GSP post on Quorn sustainability and ethics. There’s certainly room for improvement, such as using organic flour and oil, but I think it’s in the top 10% of similar products, ethically speaking, and therefore deserves a score of 5/5 Green Stars.

One of the reasons that I rate Quorn highly for environmental impact (other than the usual carbon, land, and water footprints) is that the company has gradually improved itself over the years. I’m excited that they are investigating the possibility of growing the fungus on cellulose, which could mean making food from agricultural waste such as plant stalks. It’s quite a unique food company and one that I think is worth supporting.

Here’s a very quick summary of why I support this product (with more detail in the post linked above):

• Vegan product.
• Very low footprints (carbon, land, water) compared to meat.
• Packaging is a cardboard box – made from renewable FSC-certified wood and recyclable.
• Quorn Foods is unique in the food space – growing a fungus in a fermentor (kinda like brewing beer) and could revolutionize food by producing food from cellulose. 

My scores (out of 5) for Quorn pineapple chipotle nuggets:

• 4 gold stars for quality and value
• 5 green stars for social and environmental impact

That’s just my opinion – please comment below to share your thoughts. The purpose of the Green Stars Project is to encourage you to include your own ethical score when you write a review anywhere. You can enter the GSP contest to win a subscription to Ethical Consumer magazine.