Ketchup market check

Non-transparent origin, lots of sugar and hardly any organic products

The origin of the tomatoes remains unknown for a third of the products, the organic share is 13 percent.

(Bild: Mitja Kobal)

The mandatory origin labeling in Austria shows room for improvement. To coincide with the barbecue season, ketchup was examined in a market check and it was found that there is a lack of transparency in supermarkets, particularly when it comes to the origin of the main ingredient. 

In around 70 percent of products, the origin of the tomatoes remains unclear. If the origin is known, the tomatoes often come from dry growing regions in the south, where intensive irrigation is required.

500 liters of water for one kilo of tomatoes
Massive irrigation means that a total of over 500 liters of water are used for one kilogram of ketchup, from growing the tomatoes to processing. While one kilogram of Austrian tomatoes has a water footprint of just 33 liters, the global average is 214 liters. The water footprint is all the water that is used or polluted for the production of a product.

Due to the lack of transparency regarding the origin of the ingredients, the top score in the market check is only "satisfactory". Billa Plus scored best in the comparison of product ranges.

(Bild: Mitja Kobal)

Only 13 percent organic
Greenpeace was also struck by the high sugar content in ketchup, which is almost always in second place on the list of ingredients behind tomatoes - in classic recipes, this accounts for around a fifth. On average, the proportion of organic ketchup on Austrian shelves was only 13 percent.

Major brands conceal origin
According to Greenpeace, manufacturers were reluctant to provide information, with major brands such as Felix and Heinz failing to provide details of the countries of origin. Only ten percent of the products tested stated the origin of the tomatoes on the packaging.

According to Greenpeace, this is problematic because the majority of vegetables worldwide have either traveled a long way from countries such as China or come from arid regions in the south.