A health guru has sounded the alarm over the unexpected levels of sugar in tomato ketchup, using a leading brand to demonstrate his point.
Sunna van Kampen, the founder of Tonic Health (@tonichealth), presented a 700g bottle of the staple Heinz condiment before posing a question to his 394,000 TikTok followers: “Ever checked how much sugar is in a bottle of Heinz ketchup?”
With a view to opening eyes, he continued: “It’s pretty shocking. Time to look twice at what we’re adding to our plates.”
In his video, Sunna methodically placed kitchen scales on his workspace and commenced stacking sugar cubes until their collective mass mirrored the grams of sugar in the ketchup: “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.”
Amplifying his message, Sunna then showed viewers the startling volume of sugar visualised in a bottle – this time devoid of other ketchup components – asserting: “It’s actually 159 grams of sugar,” which equates to nearly 23% of the bottle’s total content.
He concluded with constructive advice, encouraging healthier choices: “It’s not a good thing to add to your food. Find one without the added sugar – there are options out there.”
His sobering message elicited a range of reactions. One follower exclaimed: “Shocking.” Another commented succinctly with “No!” While a different individual said: “Leave the ketchup alone!”
However, some people were quick to downplay the warning, pointing out that no one consumes an entire bottle of sauce in one go. “That’s fine, we only have a bit at a time, not the whole bottle,” one TikTok user commented. Another agreed: “But you don’t consume the whole bottle you have a small amount of sauce.”
A third person clarified: “This amount of sugar over a few weeks not daily. Big difference.” While a fourth added: “But I’m only putting on a teaspoon, or two on my dinner, not the whole tub!”
Heinz also offers a No Added Salt and Sugar version of its famous sauce, which contains 50% less sugar and salt than an ordinary bottle.
The Heinz website states: “Try 50% Less Sugar and Salt (with sweetener from natural source) or Organic Tomato Ketchup – all with the irresistible Heinz taste you know and love!
“Now enjoy the irresistible taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup with No Added Sugar and Salt – a healthier alternative for those looking to remove added sugar and 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.