Gocciole Pavesi took first place in the Salvagente test on classic biscuits, with a score of 9.7 out of 10. The analyzes on 29 products looked for acrylamide and mycotoxins, but also evaluated sugars and ingredients. Here are all the results.
If you don’t give up dipping some biscuits in milk for breakfast, you probably already have them in your pantry. The Gocciole Chocolate Pavesi are the best biscuits among the classic ones analyzed by Salvagente, who assigned them a score of 9.7 out of 10.
What made the difference was not the taste, but what the laboratory did not find: neither acrylamide nor deoxynivalenol (Don), two contaminants that can be present in cereal-based products, were detected in the samples examined.
A particularly positive result for one of the most well-known and purchased biscuits by Italians. But there is a detail that deserves attention: the Gocciole still contain 22 grams of sugars per 100 grams of product. In short, being the best in a test does not necessarily mean being the most balanced from a nutritional point of view.
This was revealed by a survey published by Salvagente in November 2025, which examined 29 biscuits, 13 of which were classic and 16 wholemeal, analyzing the presence of contaminants, the nutritional composition and the quality of the ingredients.
Why were Gocciole the best biscuits?
The first place of Gocciole Chocolate Pavesi is mainly linked to the absence of two substances searched for during the analyses. The first is acrylamide, a compound that can form when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures. It is not an ingredient added by producers, but a substance that develops through some chemical reactions also responsible for the browning of baked products.
The second is deoxynivalenol (Don), a mycotoxin produced by some molds that can contaminate cereals during cultivation or storage.
In the Gocciole samples analyzed both substances were found to be undetectable. This does not mean that its presence can be absolutely excluded, but that any concentrations were lower than the detection limits of the analyzes carried out.
This is precisely one of the most interesting aspects of the test: even between apparently similar biscuits there can be important differences in the quantity of contaminants.
What are the other best biscuits in the supermarket?
Le Gocciole are not the only ones to have obtained very positive results.
In second place we find the Saiwa Oro Classico, with a score of 9.1 out of 10. Also in this case the laboratory did not detect acrylamide, while the concentration of Don was found to be 35 micrograms per kilogram, well below the limits considered.
This is followed by three tied products, all with 9 points: the Macine Mulino Bianco, the Gentilini Piaceri without added sugar and the Carrefour Original Cream Shortbread.
The Macine have 52 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram, while this substance was not detected in the Carrefour biscuits.
Gentilini, on the other hand, stand out above all for their very low sugar content, just 1.9 grams per 100 grams of product. However, they use maltitol and maltitol syrup, sweeteners which, if consumed in excessive quantities, can cause laxative effects.
And you don’t always have to choose the most popular brands to buy biscuits that get good results.
The Lidl Realforno Fior di Panna and the Eurospin Dolciando Frollini with cream both reach 8.7 points, despite having rather low prices: 2.13 and 2.41 euros per kilogram respectively, according to the data reported in the survey.
In the first case, 66 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram were detected, in the second 51.
The results of the Coop Frollini with cream were also good, obtaining 8.5 points, followed by the Colussi Il Granturchese and the Conad Frollini with cream, both with 8.2 points. The Balocco Ciambelle closes the ranking of the classic biscuits reported in the article, with 8.1 points.
A result that at least partially disproves the idea that to purchase a good quality product you necessarily have to spend more.
Acrylamide in biscuits: what have the analyzes discovered?
One of the central aspects of the test concerns acrylamide, a substance potentially present in many foods we consume every day.
It can form in biscuits, but also in toast, French fries, coffee and other products cooked at high temperatures.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it as a probable human carcinogen, while the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers exposure through diet a public health issue.
The problem mainly concerns repeated intake over time, considering that acrylamide can be present in different foods at the same time.
In the Salvagente test, none of the 29 biscuits analyzed exceeded the European reference level of 350 micrograms per kilogram expected for common biscuits.
Be careful, however: this value does not represent a threshold that automatically separates a safe food from a dangerous one. This is a reference level used to verify the effectiveness of the measures taken by manufacturers to reduce the formation of the substance.
For biscuits specifically intended for infants and young children, there is a lower reference level of 150 micrograms per kilogram.
The average concentration of acrylamide found in the products analyzed was 88.60 micrograms per kilogram.
According to the experts consulted by Salvagente, these results confirm the importance of reducing overall exposure to acrylamide as much as possible, especially in children, who may be more exposed in relation to their body weight.
This does not mean that eating a few biscuits automatically entails a concrete risk of developing cancer, but that limiting the presence of this substance in everyday foods remains an important objective.
What about mycotoxins? What was found in the biscuits?
The other part of the investigation concerned mycotoxins, substances produced by some molds that can contaminate cereals already in the fields or during storage.
Among those researched is deoxynivalenol, known as Don, which can cause gastrointestinal effects and for which European legislation establishes maximum limits. On this front, the results are overall reassuring: all the samples remained below the limits considered.
The highest concentration of Don, equal to 101 micrograms per kilogram, was identified in Saiwa Oro Cruscoro. The laboratory also looked for zearalenone, detected only in the two samples from Doria Bucaneve, always in quantities lower than regulatory limits.
The situation of enniatins, emerging mycotoxins identified in various products and for which there are not yet specific maximum limits at European level, is more complex.
Their presence does not automatically indicate a concrete health risk, but confirms the need to continue studying their effects and monitoring their diffusion in foods.
Gocciole are the best, but be careful with sugars
There is another aspect to consider before choosing which biscuits to put in your cart. Il Salvagente not only evaluated the contaminants, but also the nutritional composition, taking into consideration sugars, salt, fiber and some ingredients considered less than desirable. And it is precisely on sugars that interesting differences emerge.
Gocciole Pavesi contain 22 grams of sugars per 100 grams of product, a quantity that is anything but negligible.
The Colussi Granturchese weigh 26 grams, the Balocco Ciambelle contain 21 and the Saiwa Oro Classico 20.
To better understand what these numbers mean, just consider a 40 gram portion of Gocciole: it provides approximately 8.8 grams of sugars. A quantity to which those present in other foods consumed during breakfast can be added.
The case of Gentilini Piaceri without added sugars is different, which contain only 1.9 grams per 100 grams, but use sweeteners such as maltitol and maltitol syrup.
Among the ingredients penalized by the magazine also include palm oil, especially for its saturated fat content, glucose-fructose syrup and some phosphate-based additives.
The presence of these substances does not automatically make a biscuit dangerous, but represents an element to be considered in the overall evaluation, especially when it comes to products consumed frequently.
So what are really the best biscuits to buy?
Gocciole Chocolate Pavesi takes first place among the classic biscuits reported in the Salvagente test, thanks above all to the absence of detectable acrylamide and Don in the analyzed samples.
The Saiwa Oro Classico also achieved a very positive result, while the Macine Mulino Bianco, the Gentilini Piaceri and the Carrefour Original Cream Shortbread stood out with high scores.
Another interesting indication comes from supermarket branded products: Lidl, Eurospin and Coop demonstrate that it is possible to find well-rated biscuits even at reasonable prices.
But the final score does not tell the whole story: a biscuit with few contaminants can still be rich in sugars, just as one without added sugars can contain sweeteners or other ingredients that deserve attention.
However, the most important conclusion concerns the producers: if some biscuits have undetectable or very low levels of acrylamide, it means that intervening on recipes, raw materials and cooking processes can make a difference.
