How healthy is your favourite ketchup?

Can ketchup ever be considered healthy? While we used some £145.5 million worth of the stuff last year, it’s often criticised for its sugar content. Yet all might not be quite as it seems.

For the sugar content is complicated by the fact that labels do not distinguish between sugar added by the manufacturer and sugar that occurs naturally in the fruit, suggests registered dietitian Helen Bond.

In the case of Heinz ketchup, with 22.8g sugar per 100g, it’s likely that around a fifth comes from the tomatoes.

Heinz has adjusted its recipe to bring down levels of sugar and salt — however, our favourite brand is still one of the worst offenders

Helen says: ‘While the added or “free” sugar from ketchup — perhaps half a teaspoon in a tablespoon — is not insignificant, the tomatoes bring nutrients such as lycopene and beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A.

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‘When tomatoes are processed, the tough cell walls are broken down, so we absorb more of these nutrients from ketchup than we do from fresh tomatoes.’

Here, we rank eight ketchups from the most sugary to the least (according to their stated sugar per 100g), with comments from Helen Bond. We also taste-tested them and gave an overall health rating — with some surprises…

Tiptree Tomato Ketchup

£2.14 for 310g, Waitrose.

Per 100g (made with 180g tomatoes): Calories, 182; sugar, 31g (7 ¾ tsp); salt, 1.2g

Proof that posh and expensive isn’t always healthiest: this was the highest here in sugar, though the salt is lower than many.

Taste: Delicious! A strong taste of tomato and not too sweet.

3/10

Proof that posh and expensive isn’t always healthiest: this was the highest here in sugar, though the salt is lower than many

Aldi Bramwells Tomato Ketchup

49p for 560g. Per 100g (made with 188g tomatoes): Calories, 108; sugar, 23g (5 ¾ tsp); salt, 1.7g

A decent amount of tomatoes for such an inexpensive product, but sugar and salt levels are high.

Taste: Spicy and less tomatoey than the others we tried.

5/10

A decent amount of tomatoes for such an inexpensive product, but sugar and salt levels are high

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

£1.75 for 460g, ocado.com Per 100g (made with 148g tomatoes): Calories, 102; sugar, 22.8g (5 ¾ tsp); salt, 1.8g

Heinz has adjusted its recipe to bring down levels of sugar and salt — however, our favourite brand is still one of the worst offenders.

Taste: Very sweet, but a good tomato flavour.

5/10

Morrisons Squeezy Tomato Ketchup

78p for 470g. Per 100g (made with 157g tomatoes): Calories, 96; sugar, 18.1g (4 ½ tsp); salt, 0.8g

Own-brand ketchup will often be lower in sugar and salt — and this option scores well. It also contains a good amount of tomato.

Taste: Sweet and quite synthetic.

8/10

Own-brand ketchup will often be lower in sugar and salt — and this option scores well. It also contains a good amount of tomato

Mr Organic No Added Sugar Italian Organic

£3.29 for 480g, ocado.com Per 100g (made with 600g tomatoes): Calories, 84; sugar, 13.7g (3½ tsp); salt, 1.63g

It’s misleading to say that this has no added sugar because it’s sweetened with apple juice — a source of the ‘free’ sugars on which we should be cutting down. The level is fairly low, though, and there are lots of tomatoes in here.

Taste: A strong, quite peppery, tomato flavour.

7/10

It’s misleading to say that this has no added sugar because it’s sweetened with apple juice — a source of the ‘free’ sugars on which we should be cutting down. The level is fairly low, though, and there are lots of tomatoes in here

Tesco Everyday Value Tomato Ketchup

42p per 550g. Per 100g (made with 116g tomatoes); Calories, 90; sugar, 13.4g (3 ½ tsp); salt, 0.7g

Cheap isn’t always bad for you — this may have slightly fewer tomatoes and more extra ingredients (such as cornflour to thicken, citric acid to add acidity and flavouring) to make up for it, but it is one of the lowest sugar and salt ketchups around.

Taste: Very spicy — more like a BBQ sauce.

9/10

Cheap isn’t always bad for you — this may have slightly fewer tomatoes and more extra ingredients (such as cornflour to thicken, citric acid to add acidity and flavouring) to make up for it, but it is one of the lowest sugar and salt ketchups around

Dr Will’s Tomato Ketchup

£3.50 for 250ml, dr-wills.com Per 100g (made with 180g tomatoes): Calories, 65; sugar, 11.4g (3 tsp); salt, 0.65g

This is sweetened with dates, and the only one with none of the bad-for-you added sugars. It has the lowest salt levels of the ketchups we tried, too.

Taste: Like a strong tomato paste.

10/10

This is sweetened with dates, and the only one with none of the bad-for-you added sugars. It has the lowest salt levels of the ketchups we tried, too

Heinz 50% Less Sugar and Salt

£1.75 for 435g, Waitrose. Per 100g (made with 174g tomatoes): Calories, 64; sugar, 11g (2 ¾ tsp); salt, 0.9g

Heinz halves the sugar in this product and makes up the sweetness gap with the naturally sourced sweetener stevia. The salt level is reasonably healthy compared with most.

Taste: A strong tomatoey flavour — delicious.

9/10  

Heinz halves the sugar in this product and makes up the sweetness gap with the naturally sourced sweetener stevia. The salt level is reasonably healthy compared with most