Why Heinz Ketchup fails the Öko-Test

by time news

FFor many Germans, ketchup is as much a part of sausages as Tatort is part of Sunday evening entertainment. There is still a long way to go before the start of the barbecue season, but the consumer magazine Öko-Test has already taken a close look at the sauces. In preparation for the warmer months, so to speak. The clear loser: Heinz Tomato Ketchup. Of the 20 ketchups tested by Öko-Test, including seven with an organic seal, it came last.

One of the most striking things under the microscope: a greatly increased occurrence of mold toxins. The laboratory commissioned by Öko-Test detected 47 micrograms of alternariol per kilogram in Heinz ketchup. That is almost five times the guideline value of 10 micrograms set by the EU in 2022. The toxin gets into ketchup when overripe tomatoes are processed during manufacture. Studies have shown that the poison can damage genetic material.

However, the managing director and editor-in-chief of Öko-Test-Verlag Kerstin Scheidecker emphasizes: “It is clear that the amount that we found in the laboratory is not acutely toxic. It is very unlikely that you will actually get acute problems if you eat this ketchup.” It is still unclear from what amount Alternariol actually becomes dangerous. Nevertheless, minimizing such substances is important.

“It’s also possible to have good taste with less sugar”

Ketchup tastes sweet. And not only because of the natural sweetness of ripe tomatoes, but above all because of the large amount of added sugar. In Heinz ketchup, that’s a whopping 25.3 grams per 100 milliliters – more than in all other tested products. The lowest sugar content detected in the study was 13 grams (Dm Bio Ketchup). In the taste test, the sensory experts gave it a “very good”. “It’s also possible to have good taste with less sugar,” notes Scheidecker.

She is aware that Heinz is a big brand in the ketchup sector and many people swear by it. Nevertheless, these results are “a good reason to see whether children in particular can benefit from a little less sugar.” With a 30-milliliter portion of ketchup, a three-year-old child already achieves 50 percent of the daily intake specified by the WHO maximum amount of sugar. “Of course you can now say, ‘Oh my god, it’s not that bad’, but: The crowd as a whole makes it,” says Scheidecker. The less sugar you consume from processed products, the better.


The group also did not provide any information in the “Öko-Test” on the country of origin of the tomatoes from which Heinz makes his ketchup.
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Image: dpa

Despite everything, there is also something good hidden in the red-brown mass. It’s called lycopene – a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red color and has a cell-protecting effect. According to studies, there should even be a connection between high tomato consumption and a reduced risk of cancer – but this has not yet been sufficiently proven. A high lycopene value in ketchup indicates that more ripe tomatoes were used in the product. However, this was not the case with Heinz ketchup, with 104 milligrams per kilogram, the market dominator also performed worst here.

Where do the tomatoes come from?

In addition to checking the ingredients and taste, Öko-Test also subjected the ketchup products to a transparency test. This examined whether the companies disclosed information about their supply chains, working conditions and environmental efforts. Many did so willingly and extensively. But: “We still haven’t heard anything from Heinz,” says Kerstin Scheidecker. The same applies to Kraft tomato ketchup, which also belongs to the merged Kraft-Heinz sauce empire. It also did not do particularly well in the Öko-Test with the grade “sufficient”. Kraft Heinz could not be reached for inquiries from the FAZ until Thursday afternoon.

Popular accompaniment for currywurst with fries: However, some tested ketchups contain unexpected amounts of sugar.


Popular accompaniment for currywurst with fries: However, some tested ketchups contain unexpected amounts of sugar.
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Image: dpa

The Ketchup Winners

In addition to Heinz, there are other test losers. The worst in the organic group were the ketchups from Dm Bio, alnatura and enerBiO. While in the first two above all increased mold toxin levels ensured a “sufficient”, in the latter the lack of transparency in the supply chain was important. In the conventional area, Hellmann’s ketchup received the second worst grade overall with an “unsatisfactory” due to increased levels of mold toxins and a high proportion of recycled material in the plastic packaging.

On the other hand, two less well-known brands achieved top marks: The ketchups from Zwergenwiese (organic) and Penny were the only ones to be awarded “very good” in the test. Both showed only traces of mold toxins and are significantly healthier with less than 20 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. According to the manufacturers, the tomatoes used come from Italy or Spain, the Zwergenwiesen ketchup received a first for transparency in the supply chain, but Penny is slightly ahead in terms of taste.

Editor’s note: As a spokeswoman for Heinz Kraft told the FAZ on Friday morning, the company attaches great importance to the quality of every ketchup bottle it produces and takes results such as those from “Öko-Test” accordingly seriously. The tomatoes used came mainly from Spain and California, where attention was paid to sustainable cultivation. She also referred to the brand’s reduced-sugar products.

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