A guru has sounded the alarm on the hidden sugar content in tomato ketchup, revealing the surprising amount that's packed into each bottle.
Using the popular brand as an example, British user Sunna van Kampen, founder of Tonic Health (@tonichealth), picked up a 700g bottle of the famous sauce and posed a question to his 394,000 followers: "Ever checked how much sugar is in a bottle of Heinz ketchup? It's pretty shocking. Time to look twice at what we're adding to our plates."
In a bid to drive his message home, whipped out kitchen scales and began piling on sugar cubes until they tipped the scales at the same number of grams of sugar contained in the ketchup.
READ MORE:
"I'm going to show how that looks because that is 39 teaspoons of sugar. That is so much that you're adding into your diet on a daily basis without you even knowing."
Adding to the effect, Sunna then demonstrated what that amount of sugar would look like in a bottle, minus the ketchup's other components. "It's actually 159 grams of sugar," he clarified - a staggering 23% of the entire weight of the sauce.
He concluded with a piece of advice: "It's not a good thing to add to your food. Find one without the added sugar - there are options out there."
One of Sunna's fans reacted with disbelief: "Shocking," while another could only muster a stunned "No! " A third lamented: "Leave the ketchup alone!"
Other TikTok users were quick to shrug off the health alert over ketchup sugar content, however, with one person saying: "That's fine, we only have a bit at a time, not the whole bottle." Another insisted: "But you don't consume the whole bottle you have a small amount of sauce."
Elaborating on the point, someone else pointed out: "This amount of sugar over a few weeks not daily. Big difference." Meanwhile, a fourth chimed in: "But I'm only putting on a teaspoon, or two on my dinner, not the whole tub!".
In response to concerns about sugar and salt content, Heinz offers a healthier alternative, their No Added Salt and Sugar version of its classic condiment, touting 50% less sugar and salt than the standard bottle. The proudly proclaims: "Try 50% Less Sugar & Salt (with sweetener from natural source) or Organic Tomato Ketchup - all with the irresistible Heinz taste you know and love!".
The site also points out: "Now enjoy the irresistible taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup with No Added Sugar & Salt - a healthier alternative for those looking to remove added sugar & salt completely from foods. With absolutely no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, no other ketchup tastes quite like it."
Heinz has been contacted for comment.
