Rusks have occupied a fixed place in Italian breakfasts for decades: crunchy, practical, easy to store and versatile in combinations, they accompany the daily awakening of millions of people. There are those who consume them plain, those who enrich them with jam or honey and those who use them as a base for spreads of all kinds. Behind a food that appears simple, many differences are hidden, capable of impacting the overall nutritional quality.
In front of the supermarket shelf, the choice is not at all immediate, given the amount of alternatives, including classic rusks, wholemeal, cereal, with seeds, reduced salt content, without added sugar, gluten-free and even covered in chocolate. The packaging often focuses on reassuring messages and health promises which risk disorientating those looking for a nutritionally balanced product.
To help consumers orient themselves, Altroconsumo carried out an in-depth analysis involving over 100 rusks belonging to different categories. The objective of the investigation went beyond the simple comparison between brands, with the aim of verifying what the products that end up on Italians’ tables every morning actually contain.
The test included large brands, private labels and discount products, so as to offer a complete snapshot of the market. The association’s experts evaluated ingredients, nutritional values, presence of additives and level of industrial transformation.
After examining the whole versions, the focus was on 47 different classic rusks, of which only five brands managed to reach the maximum rating of “Very good”.
The 5 classic rusks rated “Very good”
Here are the 5 brands that have achieved the highest rating, the only ones to reach and exceed the threshold of 80 points out of 100:
Below is the rest of the ranking:
How the Altroconsumo test was conducted
As previously mentioned, the analysis involved over 100 rusks, including both the classic and wholemeal versions. The final judgment derives from an overall score, expressed on a scale from 0 to 100, constructed using various criteria.
The nutritional quality, which accounts for 55% of the final result, is based on the Nutri-score and takes into account calories, saturated fats, sugars and salt as elements to limit, together with fibre, proteins and other positively evaluated nutrients.
Additives account for 15% of the score and penalize the presence of preservatives, colorants and additional substances, also classified based on their safety profile. A further 15% concerns the degree of industrial transformation, with negative ratings for ingredients considered ultra-processed, such as maltodextrins and glucose or fructose syrups.
The presence of artificial sweeteners accounts for 10% of the score, while the recommended portion size accounts for the remaining 5%, with penalties for larger ones.
The products were purchased in ten different supermarket and discount chains, with surveys carried out in July 2025. Based on the final score, Altroconsumo divided the rusks into five rating bands: Very good, Good, Acceptable, Poor and Very poor.
