Tomato paste has been in use for years and it often helps boost the taste of stew and quantity too.
But recently, more persons are relying on tomato paste to prepare their stew and meals. This is because the cost of fresh tomato in Nigeria is rising endlessly.
There appears to be scarcity that is forcing the price to go up.
However, amidst this scarcity, tomato paste is still very available.
The increase in its use now requires that we bring to your notice some things about pastes.
The reliance calls for proper scrutiny of the label and content before you buy to be sure your body needs what you are buying.
The decision you make as a cook could affect the health of another persons that eats that meal.
Content Of Tomato Paste
People often overlook reading labels before they buy their products. This way of life makes a mess of the essence of adding the information on the pack.
The next time you want to buy a paste remember to look at the ingredients. This helps you know what exactly is in the tomato sachet.
Ingredients
Tomatoes, sugars, soy fibre, modified starch (Corn and Tapioca), Salt, Acidity regulators, (E330, E331 (iii)), Colours (E150d, E127), Vitamins & Mineral Premix (A, D, E, K and Iron), Vegetable Extract, Nature identical flavour (Tomato), Contains Soya.
Implications
First, not so many persons know that there is sugar in their tomato paste.
What this sugar presence means is that someone who is diabetic will find it tough to control sugar level while also adding this paste to meal.
The amount of sugar in a pack of tomato paste is 7 grams and this is 1 and 2/3 teaspoon of sugar.
Someone that is diabetic is not supposed to add sugar to meals. It could result to a spike in sugar level.
We know that many persons are diabetic without knowing and they keep eating sugar from food items unknowingly.
One other thing we noticed is the quantity of tomato in a sachet of tomato.
With the high cost of tomato, it is important to understand that the quantity of real tomato in each sachet of tomato paste is far less than what you think it is.
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One will definitely need far more than 300 Nair worth of tomato to get that quantity in a sachet. Yet the sachet is less than 120 Naira.
The quantity of tomato paste you see in your sachet gets a boost from tapioca and corn that are added.
This is also a reason this paste contains colouring.
If you cook with tomato paste, you will notice that the fish in the stew changes colour. The colour added to the paste is the reason for this.
A study says food colourants could have some side effects (1). However, it is important to note that food colour with ‘E number’ added to it means it has passed safety tests.
The colour in your paste is safe, according to the number provided on the sachet.
Bottom Line
While we are not out-rightly saying it is bad to use tomato paste, we recommend moderation in its use.
Cooking with paste is something that you must do with your health status well assessed.
If you are someone who do not need to add processed sugar to your diet, it may not be advisable to add this paste to your meal.
Being sure that adding it to your meal will not lead to a spike in blood sugar level is very important.
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Thank you for this. I’ve been researching information on the use and safety of processes tomato paste as I just recently started using and noticed the huge boost in taste it gave my meals so I needed to be sure it was safe.