THE  BEST  KETCHUP

 

It is a case of ‘mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the best ketchup of them all’. Only this time it is no mirror but the consumer Education & Research centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, which was trying to find the best ketchup in the market. As many as 14 brands sold nationwide & two unbranded ones were tested for colour, consistency, flavour & absence of defects. Leading the pack was Maggi ketchup with 79 points, with kissan ketchup (78) & Heinz ketchup (78) following close behind. Among the regional brands Madhur premium sauce & ketchup topped the list. The findings reported in Insight, the CERC, magazine that Nylon’s sauce was the ‘Best Buy’ in the national category because the price was less than Maggi ketchup. The lycopene content- which is known to have a lot of health benefits  was also checked in the ketchups. The more the tomato contents & low level of  lycopene indicates that the sauce or ketchup has less of tomato pulp or that poor quality of tomato has been used. Masher ketchup had the highest lycopene content followed by R.K’s tomato ketchup & magi sauces.

MANISHA  RAI

                                                                          M.Sc. 2 year

INSTITUTE OF FOOD TECHNOLOGY