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Review
. 2021 Nov 25;26(23):7125.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26237125.

Red Tomato Products as an Alternative to Reduce Synthetic Dyes in the Food Industry: A Review

Tiago Alves Castro  1 , Bruna Santos Leite  1 , Larissa Santos Assunção  2 , Tayane de Jesus Freitas  2 , Nelson Barros Colauto  2 , Giani Andrea Linde  1 , Deborah Murowaniecki Otero  1 , Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado  3 , Camila Duarte Ferreira Ribeiro  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Red Tomato Products as an Alternative to Reduce Synthetic Dyes in the Food Industry: A Review

Tiago Alves Castro et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Most dyes used in the food industry are synthetic and can be a health hazard. Red tomato may serve as a natural alternative dye to replace synthetic colorants. This study aimed to review the literature on the addition of red tomato products (powder tomato, paste, freeze-dried, tomato peel powder, tomato pomace) to reduce the usage of synthetic dyes in the food industry. Red tomato products have been used as coloring in pasta, bologna, sausages, cookies, crackers, macaroons, hamburgers, breads, muffins, cheeses, and nuggets. The trans-cis isomerization of lycopene by oxidative processes directly affects the color of the pigment. The lycopene contained in tomato has antioxidant activity and could reduce or eliminate other oxidants and/or synthetic preservatives in food. Moreover, tomatoes in foods have high sensory scores, nutritional appeal, and marketing potential. However, its use as a food colorant has been not extensively explored. Therefore, further studies are still required, especially on the stability of carotenoids in tomatoes used in processed foods.

Keywords: antioxidant activity; carotenes; food pigment; lycopene; natural food additive.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical composition of tomatoes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Lycopene found in tomatoes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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