Consumer Education & Research Centre

We tested 15 brands of tomato sauce and ketchup from across the country and two unbranded samples from Ahmedabad. The brands tested were Druk Tomato Sauce, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Kissan Tom Tom Tomato Sauce, Kissan Tom Tom Tomato Ketchup, Madhur Premium Tomato Sauce, Madhur Tomato Ketchup, Maggi Tomato Sauce, Maggi Tomato Ketchup, Nilon’s Tomato Sauce, Nilon’s Tomato Ketchup, Ohms Tomato Sauce, Paulson Tomato Ketchup, R.K.’s Tomato Ketchup , Sona Tomato Ketchup and Tops Tomato Ketchup.

We also tested two brands Sona Continental and Tops Continental which had vegetables as ingredients, besides tomatoes. Hence we kept them as a separate category.

The samples were tested against the specifications laid down in the Fruit Products Order (FPO), 1955, the Bureau of Indian Standards IS : 3882 and Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954. The PFA Act and the FPO are mandatory while the BIS is voluntary. None of the brands carried the IS mark.

We checked the lycopene content of all the brands. The more the lycopene, the more will be the tomato content. Low levels of lycopene may be due to less quantity of tomato pulp or poor quality of tomatoes used. None of the standards talk about the lycopene content of the sauce. This was an additional test we did on our own to check the lycopene content of each brand. Madhur Ketchup (10.2mg/100gm) had the highest lycopene content followed by R.K.'s Ketchup (9.9mg/100gm) and Maggi Sauce (9.1mg/100gm).

We tested all the brands for mould, yeast & spores count and bacteria count. Bacteria, yeast and mould are responsible for many types of food spoilage before and during the processing. Paulson Ketchup (165), Sona Ketchup (231), Druk Sauce (140) along with both the unbranded samples were found with a very high yeast and spores count and hence failed this test. Sona Ketchup and both the unbranded samples failed the test for bacteria count. Sona Ketchup had the bacteria count as 200 million per c.c against the limit of 100 million per c.c.

Paulson Ketchup (0.7), Sona Ketchup (0.9), Ohms Sauce (0.8) and one unbranded sample L-1 (0.8) failed in the test for acidity as acetic acid. If the acidity (acetic acid) is lower than the minimum limit, mould and yeast may grow reducing the shelf life of the product. The PFA Act and FPO have set the limit as not less than 1.0 while the BIS has set the lower limit as 1.2. R.K.'s Ketchup (1.1) and another loose sample L-2 (1.1) could not meet the requirement of BIS but passed as per the PFA Act and the FPO.

The presence of preservatives prevents the microbiological spoilage and increases the shelf life of the product. But too much of it is not desirable. The PFA, BIS as well as the FPO have set the limit as 750ppm. Paulson Ketchup (1457), Sona Ketchup (898) and one unbranded sample L-1(2812) were found with very high levels of benzoic acid. Heinz Ketchup (87) was found with the lowest amount of preservative.

Sona Ketchup and one unbranded sample L-2 were found with sunset yellow and hence both failed the PFA test for coal tar colour.

Madhur Tomato Ketchup, Paulson Tomato Ketchup, R.K.'s Tomato Ketchup and Sona Ketchup did not label the weight as per the requirement of the standard. One sample of R.K.’s Ketchup was found with less weight. The 1000 gm bottle weighed only 966 gm where the variation allowed by the standard is 15 gm.

Ohms Tomato Sauce did not give the batch number.

The FPO specifies that the bottle shall be sealed in such a manner that it cannot be opened without destroying the licence number and the identification mark of the manufacturer. Paulson did not label the FPO licence number as the requirement.

Our trained panellists tested the samples for colour,consistency, flavour and absence of defects. Among the national brands, Heinz Tomato Ketchup was preferred the most by them. Among the regional brands, Madhur Sauce was liked the most.

Among the national brands, Maggi Ketchup (79) scored the highest followed by Kissan Sauce (78) and Heinz Ketchup (78). Among the regional brands, Madhur Premium Sauce and Ketchup topped the list.

Among the national brands, Nilon’s Sauce is our best buy while among the regional brands, Madhur Ketchup is our best buy.

In the Continental category both the brands were found non-conforming, hence they were not rated and ranked.