Among the most purchased products in the frozen departments, the margherita pizza has always occupied a leading place: practical, quick to prepare and suitable for the whole family, it is often the preferred solution for a quick dinner without giving up something familiar. But how good are the daisies we find in the freezer really?
The answer is Altroconsumo, which analyzed 75 frozen pizzas available in large-scale retail trade, in different formats and versions: from the single portion to that for multiple people, through stuffed variants and obviously the classic margherita. The result is anything but encouraging: out of 75 products tested, only 2 daisies obtained a “Good” rating. None reached the “Very Good” range.
The 2 best
Smart (Esselunga) – Pizza Margherita — 65 points
Buitoni – I Tranci Margherita Pizza — 63 points
Both stand out compared to the competition for a better overall nutritional balance and a lower presence of additives. The Esselunga Smart can obviously only be purchased in that chain, while the Tranci Buitoni are distributed in general large-scale retail trade and therefore more easily available.
How they were evaluated
The method used by Altroconsumo is not limited to looking at just one aspect, but combines multiple parameters with different weights:
The judgment scale
The scores obtained are then placed into five bands:
| Band | Score |
|---|---|
| Very good | 80–100 |
| Good | 60–79 |
| Acceptable | 40–59 |
| Rare | 20–39 |
| Very poor | 0–19 |
The fact that no pizza exceeded 80 and that the vast majority are in the “Acceptable” range or even below is a fact that invites reflection. The apparent simplicity of a margherita — dough, tomato, mozzarella — does not automatically translate into quality in the world of industrial frozen foods, where additives, excess salt and low-quality raw materials are often the norm.
What to keep in mind when buying
Even when choosing the best products in the ranking, it is always worth reading the label carefully. A long list of ingredients full of acronyms (E***) is usually a sign of a high degree of transformation. Better to prefer products with recognizable ingredients, a non-excessive salt content and a reasonable portion. And if time permits, even a homemade pizza with a few good ingredients remains unbeatable.
