Tomatoes are warm- and sun-loving plants. Eight hours of Sun a day is essential for growing healthy tomatoes. Tomatoes thrive in nearly every type of soil but grow best in sandy loam soil that drains well and has a pH of 6.2 to 6.8. The soil for growing tomatoes should be high in phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg).
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene. Lycopene is an excellent antioxidant with cancer-preventing properties. Lycopene is a major pigment in tomatoes that is largely responsible for the red colour. The tomato skin contains 72% – 92% of the lycopene that is found in the water-insoluble fraction, during processing most of this lycopene could be lost.
Tomato Production
After harvesting, tomatoes are washed and every other plant part removed. The tomatoes are then chopped into slices and cooked till they turn into a pulp or tomato juice- the pulp is then passed through a sieve to remove the seeds and any other impurities, which is then transferred to an evaporator to remove moisture to get a concentrated final product. Typically, the water content in tomatoes is about 95%. A single-concentrated paste will give you typically 80% moisture and 20% tomato soluble solids while a double-concentrated paste will give 70% moisture and 30% soluble solid. Triple concentrate will give 65% moisture. The quality of a tomato concentrate is judged based on several factors, such as taste, texture, aroma and nutrients.
How Tomato paste is made
Tomatoes are fleshy vegetables which have a high moisture content, typically a tomato is about 95% water. To produce a Tomato paste, this water has to be removed through a process known as evaporation, evaporation is carried out using a mechanical evaporator. In an Evaporator hot steam is supplied to trigger the removal of water from the Tomato juice to get it concentrated.
Tomato concentrate is produced using two main methods:
- Hot Break- in Hot Break the Tomato juice is heated rapidly to between 85oC- 100oC, this produces a concentrate with a high viscosity which is typically used in Ketchup and Tomato Sauce
- Cold Break- in the cold break method, the Tomato is heated slowly within 65 -75oC to produce a less viscous concentrate.
Tomato concentrates are produced in a similar way as you do in the kitchen when you want to prepare a stew from fresh tomatoes. The difference however is on the scale- industrial machines are used and greater attention is given to various conditions
The steps below outline how tomato pastes are produced
- Sourcing: Fresh tomatoes are sourced from farmers/farms and are delivered to the processor. These tomatoes must be delivered with the tomatoes being free of bacterial growth
- Sorting: pressured water is used to transport the tomato to the sorting chamber where all impurities are removed
- Chopping: The sorted tomatoes are reduced to a tomato pulp in preparation for heating
- Preheating: The pulp is pre-heated to 65-75°C for CH processing or to 85-95°C for HB processing.
- Removal of impurities: The pulp (comprising fibre, juice, pores skin and seeds) is removed through a mechanical sieve. The impurities can be used to prepare animal feed
- Juice Extraction: The enhanced juice is collected in a sizable holding tank, which feeds the evaporator constantly.
- Concentration: Evaporation is the most energy-intensive step of the tomato paste process. It is here water is extracted, this is where the water is extracted, and the juice that is still only 5% solid becomes 28% to 36% concentrated tomato paste.
- Pasteurization: Most facilities package the completed product using aseptic bags, so the product in the evaporator never makes a connection with air before the customer is reached. The concentrate is delivered from the evaporator right to an aseptic container – it is then pumped through the aseptic steriliser-cooler (also known as a flash cooler) to the aseptic filler.
Why Sugar in Tomatoes?
There is a misconception out there that sugar helps neutralise the acids in Tomatoes. This is false. Tomatoes are rich in both sugar and acids. The acid gives the tomatoes a sour taste. On concentration, both the acid and sugar increases and the balance of both determines the flavour of the concentrate. The more the acid the less the sugar the more the sour taste and vice versa. During evaporation, the sugar content (Brix) in tomato puree, sauce, ketchup, soup and other products is continuously analysed during the different stages of a production process.
Codex Regulations for Tomato Paste
The minimum quality requirements and ingredients that can be used in tomato processing are defined in local and international legislations and standards to protect consumer health. Codex Alimentarius is the international regulator for the food industry, it issues codes and regulations on what forms parts of any food that is to be consumed. In its (CODEX STAN 57-1981) it issued codes and guidelines for the production of tomato concentrates. In that publication, Codex defined a Tomato concentrate as “ Processed tomato concentrate if the product: (a) prepared by concentrating the juice or pulp obtained from substantially sound, mature red tomatoes (Lycopersicon/Lycopersicum esculentum P. Mill) strained or otherwise prepared to exclude the majority of skins, seeds and other coarse or hard substances in the finished product; and preserved by physical means. The tomato concentration shall be 7% or more of natural total soluble solids, but not dehydrated to a dry powder or flake form”
Furthermore, it states
“Tomato concentrate may be considered “Tomato Puree” or “Tomato Paste” when the concentrate meets these requirements:
“Tomato Puree” – Tomato concentrate that contains no less than 7% but less than 24% of natural total soluble solids.
“Tomato Paste” – Tomato concentrate that contains at least 24% of natural total soluble solids.
The Codex guidelines permits only the addition of salt, lemon juice( as an acidulant) , spices and water to a Tomato concentrate. The quality criteria to be measured are good flavour and odour, fairly good red colour, and a homogeneous texture.
If you are eating anything which has any additives outside of the ones defined by Codex then you are not eating a paste but an adulterated paste which might be considered as a food fraud
Tomato Mix
Tomato Mix appears to be a product created only for the Nigerian Market. I have tried to see if a similar product exists in other countries but I have yet to find. Tomato mix appears to be low-grade Tomato paste produced to meet the purchasing power of many consumers. As the Nigerian economy deteriorates, consumers struggle to afford what they need, the producers also understand that reducing purchasing power affects their abilities to sell their products, hence, they have to find a middle ground and for tomato paste, it becomes a tomato mix. Collaborating with this is the founder of the only made-in Nigerian Tomato concentrates, Tomato Jos. Writing on the microblogging platform Twitter, the founder who goes by the name @ShoutsAndMiras explained that Tomato paste producers have now been forced to reduce quality to meet the customer’s price point and that reduction led to the creation of a product called a Tomato Mix.
I searched to get the Nigerian regulations for Tomato Mix, while I could not find anyone linked to NAFDAC I found a 2017 guideline issued by the standard organisation of Nigeria and titled NIS 964:2017 and named Standard for Tomato Mix. All my attempts to get the standards and see the outlined processes were not possible as I was required to be physically present in their office to get it despite paying online.
So, what is contained in a tomato mix? Take any brand of Tomato mix in the market and take a look at the label you will find that the ingredients are the same- the ingredients are: Tomatoes, Sugar, Corn Starch or Soya, Soy Dietary Fibres, Acidity regulator and colouring agents.
The ingredients used in Tomato mix bring to the fore questions on food safety. The Quantity of tomatoes used in the Tomato mix is unknown and not indicated as demanded by regulation. I would not be surprised if the Tomato quantity in a Tomato mix is less than 30% while Cornstarch,sugar and other ingredients make up the other percentages. The presence of colouring agents deepens further the fear of food safety. Some colouring agents have been linked to cancer and in some cases, some of them such as Erythroxin ( E-127), a synthetic dye which I found in one tomato mix has been banned in the UK, Europe, China and Japan. I also do not trust the regulator, NAFDAC and SON to do a proper job standing in for the consumer. In the European Union, the use of colourant in Tomato concentrates is banned but here, a weak regulator who does not care about food safety permits the production and distribution of all manners of foods without evaluating its consequences on the consumer. What they factor is the economic argument of the manufacturers and not the food safety concerns of the consumers.
In a publication titled Detection and Quantification of Tomato Paste Adulteration Using Conventional and Rapid Analytical Methods published in the National Library of Science by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7663517/) I found this extract interesting
“ Despite these regulations, issues of food fraud continue to be on the rise typically, to reduce production costs or to produce products more appealing to consumers for increased profit. The dangers of economically motivated food adulteration (EMA) might be of higher risk than “traditional” food safety hazards because the contaminants are often unknown and unconventional. In the case of fresh tomatoes, a common problem is the mislabeling of provenance or organic status. The addition of extra water or cheaper bulking agents (e.g., processing by-products, starch) can also occur during tomato juice and puree production. Other possible adulterants include sugar, acidity regulators, and even toxic synthetic dyes”
The obvious inference from here is that the Tomato mix might not be as healthy as they would want us to believe. My advice is that fresh tomatoes remain the best alternative. Fresh tomatoes are rich in lycopene which is a good antioxidant and the skin of fresh tomatoes contain the larger percentage of the lycopene in tomatoes.
Chioma v Erisco; Final Verdict
Considering the laissez-faire attitude of our regulator to food safety I would align with Chioma. As I have argued, Chioma is right within her review to worry about the possible food safety issues, especially with sugar, which is a growing concern in the food industry. Rather than criminalising Chioma’s view the job of the brand is to assure her that their food is safe while that of the regulator was to check and ensure that the product from that batch met all regulations. Having said this, criminalising consumer reviews is a victory for producers who are desperate to dump adulterated foods on consumers as the regulators watch from the side. Consumers must be able to speak up freely about how they feel about a product and the possible dangers inherent in consuming products with certain ingredients. All over the world, it is consumer advocacy that jolts regulators to action and also serves as a gatekeeper to poor products. In a country where regulations is very weak, consumers must become vociferous about any discrepancy they find in a product- it is the job of that brand to clarify and correct leading to a win-win situation for both parties.