Tomatoes and tomato-based products

Stewart, A.J. et al., Occurrence of fiavonols in tomatoes and tomato-based products, J. Agric. Food Chem., 48, 2663, 2000. 

Tomatoes and tomato-based products account for more than 85% of the dietary lycopene in North America. Lycopene content of some common tomato-based foods is shown in Table II. 

Numerous studies have demonstrated an inverse correlation between cancer rates and dietary intake of various antioxidants (foods rich in vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, lycopene, etc.) (Cl3, G5, E3, P2, H10, Y5). For example, a recent review (G8) showed a consistently lower risk of developing a variety of cancers in those with a higher consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based products (rich in lycopene, a potent carotenoid antioxidant), adding further support for the current recommendations to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. In addition... 

Stewart AJ, Bozonnet S, Mullen W, Jenkins GI, Lean MEJ, Crozier A. occurrence of flavonols in tomatoes and tomato-based products. J Agric Food Chem 2000 48 2663-2669. 

GiovANNUcci E (1999) Tomatoes, tomato-based products, lycopene, and cancer review of the epidemiologic literature , J Natl Cancer Inst, 99, 317-31. 

A study at the Harvard School of Public Health done on 48,000 men for 4 years reported that men who ate 10 or more servings of tomato products (such as tomatoes, tomato sauce, pizza sauce) per week had up to 34% less chance to develop prostate cancer (Giovannucci and others 1995). They showed that lycopene intake from tomato-based products is related to a low risk of prostate cancer, but consumption of other carotenoids ((3-carotene, a-carotene, lutein, (3-cryptoxanthin) or retinol was not associated with the risk of prostate cancer. 

The different instruments (Hunter, Gardner, Instrumental Colour Systems, etc.) process absorbance and reflectance data in slightly different ways, which means that the values obtained can differ slightly from one instrument manufacturer to another. Therefore, a product s defined colour has to be qualified with a statement indicating the instrument used. Notwithstanding this limitation, it is not uncommon to find a tristimulus colour meter in a manufacturer s quality assurance laboratory so that routine quantitative assessment of a product s colour can be made. This is particularly tine for tomato-based products, whose nature makes conventional spectrophotometric assessment meaningless. 

High tin concentrations in food may cause short-term acute health effects in some people, including stomach upsets, abdominal cramps, nausea and/or diarrhoea. These short-term effects may occur in some individuals at concentrations above 200 mg/kg.33 The UK Tin in Food Regulations 1992 limit the maximum amount of tin in food sold in the UK to 200 mg/kg.34 Fortunately, concentrations of tin in most foods are well below 10 mg/kg, although canned foods may contain higher concentrations as a result of slow dissolution of the tin coating used on some cans to protect the steel body of the can from corrosion. Tomato-based products tend to have high levels of tin as nitrate in the food accelerates corrosion of the tin. A survey of canned tomato products sold in the UK in 1998/1999 found that 98% of the products tested were below the 200 mg/kg limit.35... 

V. V. Mossine and T. P. Mawhinney, Significance of processing for the chemo-preventive potential of tomato-based products, in R. R. Watson and V. R. Preedy, (Eds.), Bioactive Foods and Extracts Cancer Treatment and Prevention, Taylor Francis, Boca Raton, FL, (2010) 279—300. 

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