Not all the burgers we find in the supermarket refrigerated section are the same. What changes is not only the price, the percentage of meat or the fat content, but also the quality of the raw material and the results of the microbiological analyses.
To understand which products to choose, Il Salvagente put 12 packaged burgers to the test, evaluating hygiene, meat quality and the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The test, published in February 2026, highlighted some critical issues in four samples, but also identified products that achieved very positive results.
Taking first place is Aia Carne al Fuoco Big Burger 100% Scottona, with a score of 9.7, followed by Casa Vercelli with 9.2. Let’s see which are the best burgers according to the magazine’s analyses.
The best burgers in the supermarket according to Il Salvagente
The ranking takes into account various parameters: 50% of the judgment depends on the hygienic conditions, 30% on the quality of the meat and the remaining 20% on the percentage of meat present in the product. The presence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics also entails a penalty.
Here are the burgers that achieved the best results:
1.Aia Carne al Fuco Big Burger 100% Scottona – Rating 9.7. Price €22.15/kg. Excellent hygiene, excellent meat quality and no antibiotic resistance detected.
2. Casa Vercelli Piedmontese Beef Hamburger – Rating 9.2. Price €25.95/kg. Excellent hygiene, good/excellent meat quality and no antibiotic resistance detected.
3. Esselunga Naturama Hamburger from Scottona – Price €23.56/kg. Contains 97% meat, excellent hygiene, good/excellent quality and no antibiotic resistance detected.
4. Pam Tesori dell’Arca Maxi Burger from Scottona – Price €21/kg. Contains 100% meat, excellent hygiene, medium meat quality and no antibiotic resistance detected.
5. Todis BBQ Hamburger Steak Burger – Rating 8.8. Price €15.80/kg. Excellent hygiene, average meat quality and no resistance to antibiotics classified as useful in the test.
The results demonstrate that price and percentage of meat are not necessarily synonymous with superior quality. What makes the difference above all are the hygienic conditions and the characteristics of the raw material.
Aia, Casa Vercelli, Esselunga and Pam: the products that convince the most
The best among those analyzed is Aia Carne al Fuoco Big Burger 100% Scottona, which obtains 9.7 points. It costs 22.15 euros per kilo, contains 89% meat and earns an excellent rating for both hygiene and the quality of the raw material. No resistance to the antibiotics examined emerged.
Excellent results also for Casa Vercelli Hamburger di Bovino Piemontese, which achieved 9.2 points. The meat is of Italian origin, represents 82% of the product and has a quality judged good/excellent. Also in this case hygiene is excellent and no resistance to the tested antibiotics was detected.
Among the other products that stand out we find Esselunga Naturama Hamburger from Scottona. It contains 97% meat, has a price of 23.56 euros per kilo and gets excellent ratings for hygiene and good/excellent for meat quality.
Also worth mentioning is Pam Tesori from Arca Maxi Burger in Scottona, the only one of the 12 samples made up of 100% beef. It costs 21 euros per kilo and gets an excellent rating for hygiene, while the quality of the meat is classified as medium. Also for Esselunga and Pam there was no resistance to the antibiotics examined.
Another product with a good overall result is Todis BBQ Hamburger Steak Burger, which scores 8.8 points and costs 15.80 euros per kilo. Hygiene is judged to be excellent, while the quality of the meat is average. There are no resistances to the antibiotics classified as useful in the test.
Higher price does not necessarily mean better quality
An interesting aspect of the test is that the cost does not always coincide with the overall rating.
Casa Vercelli, for example, is the most expensive of the products mentioned here, with a price of 25.95 euros per kilo, but it does not take first place. Todis, on the other hand, obtains 8.8 points despite having a decidedly lower price, equal to 15.80 euros per kilo.
Even the percentage of meat alone is not enough to determine the quality. The Pam product, despite containing 100% meat, receives an average rating for the quality of the raw material, while Aia, with 89%, obtains an excellent rating.
What the antibiotic test found
The most delicate result of the investigation concerns the presence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, identified in four of the twelve samples: Carrefour Terre d’Italia, Lidl Hamburger di Chianina, Gram and La Collina delle Bontà by Eurospin.
All the products analyzed comply with the regulations, but the test highlights an aspect that is not part of the normal mandatory checks on the finished product: the verification of the antibiotic resistance of any bacteria present.
This doesn’t mean that consuming one of the affected burgers automatically causes an antibiotic-resistant infection. The results, however, show why it is important to monitor a phenomenon that concerns food safety and public health.
How to cook burgers safely
Regardless of the brand you choose, it remains essential to cook the burgers well, even in the center. Unlike a whole steak, in fact, minced meat can distribute any microorganisms present on the surface throughout the product.
Thorough cooking is therefore important even when the burger has scored high in laboratory tests.
Ultimately, Salvagente’s investigation shows that on supermarket shelves you can find burgers with good results in terms of hygiene and meat quality, even without necessarily choosing the most expensive product.
To consult the entire ranking of the 12 burgers analyzed and all the laboratory results, the original Salvagente test is available.
