lPromising Customer Service lCorporate Crimes Go Sky-high lCapital Gains Tax on Sale of HouselSuing the Bar lNo April Fooling

CMYK

CM

YK

Vol.24 No 2 MARCH-APRIL 2004

15 Brands Tested

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Promising Customer Service Corporate Crimes Go Sky-high Capital Gains Tax on Sale of House

Suing the Bar No April Fooling

6 INSIGHT-The Consumer Magazine MARCH-APRIL 2004

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TomatoSauce &Ketchup

How Much ofTomatoes Do They

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TomatoSauce &Ketchup

TomatoSauce &Ketchup

Slice a few tomatoes for sandwichor salad, grind them into chutney,make gravy, juice, or puree out ofthem. And if none of these whetsyour appetite, go and buy them inbottles — in the form ofketchup...Have them any way youwant. They are good for health.

Tomato and related products areconsidered healthy foods forseveral reasons. They are low infat and calories, cholesterol free,and a good source of fibre andprotein. Tomatoes are rich also invitamins A and C, potassium andlycopene.

We tested — and, of course,tasted — 15 brands of tomatosauce and ketchup from across the

country and 2 unbranded locallyavailable samples fromAhmedabad. Our findings will tellyou where your favourite brandstands.

Brands Tested

The brands tested were DrukTomato Sauce, Heinz TomatoKetchup, Kissan Tom TomTomato Sauce, Kissan Tom TomTomato Ketchup, MadhurPremium Tomato Sauce, MadhurTomato Ketchup, Maggi TomatoSauce, Maggi Tomato Ketchup,Nilon’s Tomato Sauce, Nilon’sTomato Ketchup, Ohms TomatoSauce, Paulson Tomato Ketchup,R.K.’s Tomato Ketchup, SonaTomato Ketchup and TopsTomato Ketchup.

The Magic Of Lycopene

Lycopene is the pigmentresponsible for the characteristicdeep red colour of ripe tomatofruits and tomato products. It hasmany benefits. Some of them are:

• An antioxidant that onceabsorbed by the body helps toprevent and repair damagedcells.

• Studies show that lycopenefrom tomatoes is absorbedbetter into the blood stream if itis first heat processed.

• Studies suggest that lycopenelevels in the blood may beassociated with reducedincidence of prostate, digestivetract, lung and cervical cancer.

• Lycopene comes primarily fromtomatoes, although apricots,guava, watermelon, papaya arealso significant sources.

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7INSIGHT-The Consumer Magazine MARCH-APRIL 2004

Key Findings

We tested 15 brands of tomatosauce and ketchup from across thecountry and two unbrandedsamples from Ahmedabad. Thebrands tested were Druk TomatoSauce, Heinz Tomato Ketchup,Kissan Tom Tom Tomato Sauce,Kissan Tom Tom Tomato Ketchup,Madhur Premium Tomato Sauce,Madhur Tomato Ketchup, MaggiTomato Sauce, Maggi TomatoKetchup, Nilon’s Tomato Sauce,Nilon’s Tomato Ketchup, OhmsTomato Sauce, Paulson TomatoKetchup, R.K.’s Tomato Ketchup ,Sona Tomato Ketchup and TopsTomato Ketchup.We also tested two brands SonaContinental and Tops Continentalwhich had vegetables asingredients, besides tomatoes.Hence we kept them as a separatecategory.The samples were tested againstthe specifications laid down in theFruit Products Order (FPO), 1955,the Bureau of Indian Standards IS :3882 and Prevention of FoodAdulteration Act (PFA), 1954. ThePFA Act and the FPO are mandatorywhile the BIS is voluntary. None ofthe brands carried the IS mark.We checked the lycopene contentof all the brands. The more thelycopene, the more will be thetomato content. Low levels oflycopene may be due to lessquantity of tomato pulp or poorquality of tomatoes used. None ofthe standards talk about thelycopene content of the sauce. Thiswas an additional test we did on ourown to check the lycopene contentof each brand. Madhur Ketchup(10.2mg/100gm) had the highestlycopene content followed by R.K.'sKetchup (9.9mg/100gm) and MaggiSauce (9.1mg/100gm).We tested all the brands for mould,yeast & spores count and bacteriacount. Bacteria, yeast and mouldare responsible for many types offood spoilage before and during theprocessing. Paulson Ketchup(165), Sona Ketchup(231), DrukSauce(140) along with both theunbranded samples were foundwith a very high yeast and sporescount and hence failed this test.Sona Ketchup and both theunbranded samples failed the testfor bacteria count. Sona Ketchuphad the bacteria count as 200million per c.c against the limit of100 million per c.c.Paulson Ketchup (0.7), SonaKetchup (0.9), Ohms Sauce (0.8)and one unbranded sample L-1(0.8) failed in the test for acidity asacetic acid. If the acidity (acetic acid)

We also tested twobrands, Sona Con-tinental Sauce andTops ContinentalSauce, which hadvegetables amongthe ingredients,besides tomatoes.Hence we treated thesetwo as a separate category.

StandardsThe samples were tested against thespecifications laid down in the FruitProducts Order (FPO), 1955, the Bureauof Indian Standards IS : 3882 and thePrevention of Food Adulteration (PFA)Act, 1954. The PFA Act and the FPO aremandatory, but the BIS is voluntary.None of the brands carried the ISI mark.

How Much of TomatoesThey HaveThe tomato content of the ketchup canbe ascertained by the lycopene content.We checked the lycopene content in allthe brands. The more the lycopene, themore is the tomato content. Low levelsof it may be due to less of tomato pulpor poor quality of tomatoes used. Noneof the standards talks about thelycopene content of the sauce. Thiswas an additional test we did on ourown to check the lycopene content ofeach brand. Madhur Ketchup(10.2mg/100gm) had the highest lycopenecontent followed by R.K.’s Ketchup(9.9mg/100gm) and Maggi Sauce(9.1mg/100gm).

Germs in Your Ketchup(Microbiological Parameters)Microbial contamination is a seriousissue. We tested all the brands formould, yeast and spore count andbacterial count. Bacteria, yeast andmould are responsible for many typesof food spoilage before and during theprocessing. A high count of these inthe finished food product indicatesdecomposition or poor sanitaryconditions in the factory.Yeast & Spores count : Though the BISis silent on the yeast and spores count,the PFA Act and the FPO specify that

is lower than the minimum limit,mould and yeast may growreducing the shelf life of theproduct. The PFA Act and FPO haveset the limit as not less than 1.0while the BIS has set the lower limitas 1.2. R.K.'s Ketchup (1.1) andanother loose sample L-2 (1.1)could not meet the requirement ofBIS but passed as per the PFA Actand the FPO.The presence of preservativesprevents the microbiologicalspoilage and increases the shelflife of the product. But too much ofit is not desirable. The PFA, BIS aswell as the FPO have set the limitas 750ppm. Paulson Ketchup(1457), Sona Ketchup (898) andone unbranded sample L-1(2812)were found with very high levels ofbenzoic acid. Heinz Ketchup (87)was found with the lowest amountof preservative.Sona Ketchup and one unbrandedsample L-2 were found with sunsetyellow and hence both failed thePFA test for coal tar colour.Madhur Tomato Ketchup, PaulsonTomato Ketchup, R.K.'s TomatoKetchup and Sona Ketchup did notlabel the weight as per therequirement of the standard. Onesample of R.K.’s Ketchup wasfound with less weight. The 1000gm bottle weighed only 966 gmwhere the variation allowed by thestandard is 15 gm.Ohms Tomato Sauce did not givethe batch number.The FPO specifies that the bottleshall be sealed in such a mannerthat it cannot be opened withoutdestroying the licence number andthe identification mark of themanufacturer. Paulson did not labelthe FPO licence number as therequirement.Our trained panellists tested thesamples for colour,consistency,flavour and absence of defects.Among the national brands, HeinzTomato Ketchup was preferred themost by them. Among the regionalbrands, Madhur Sauce was likedthe most.Among the national brands, MaggiKetchup (79) scored the highestfollowed by Kissan Sauce (78) andHeinz Ketchup(78). Among theregional brands, Madhur PremiumSauce and Ketchup topped the list.Among the national brands,Nilon’s Sauce is our best buy whileamong the regional brands,Madhur Ketchup is our best buy.In the Continental categoryboth the brands were foundnon-conforming, hencethey were not rated andranked.

10 INSIGHT-The Consumer Magazine MARCH-APRIL 2004

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Is The Method Correct ?While reviewing the entire gamut of testing

methods for ketchup — Indian and foreign —we found that the BIS method for testing for the

presence of benzoic acid as a preservative was notspecific. But in compliance with the official and revised

method prescribed by the BIS, we had no option. We have,therefore, decided to make a representation to the BIS to

review its method. Heinz claimed that it used no artificialpreservatives, colours or emulsifiers. It also informed usthat it did not add any artificial preser-vatives. BIS methoduniformly applies to all manufacturers. According to theBIS method, we have found benzoic acid as 87 ppm. Inorder to be fair to Heinz we also tested by other

methods but the results were not consistent. In theprocess we delayed our publication. Hope by

now most of our subscribers havereceived our intimation on the

delay.

yeast and spores should not exceed125 per 1/60 c.m.m. Paulson Ketchup(165), Sona Ketchup (231), DrukSauce (140), along with both theunbranded samples, were foundwith a very high yeast and sporecount and hence failed this test.Bacterial count : Sona Ketchup andboth the unbranded samples failedthis test. The PFA Act and the FPOhave set the limits at 100 million perc.c. Sona Ketchup had the bacteriacount as 200 million per c.c.

Shelf LifeThe brands were tested for acidityas acetic acid. If the acidity (aceticacid) is lower than the minimumlimit, mould and yeast maygrow, reducing the shelf-life of the product. ThePFA Act and the FPOhave set the limit as notless than 1.0 while theBIS has set the lowerlimit at 1.2. PaulsonKetchup (0.7), SonaKetchup (0.9), OhmsSauce (0.8) and oneunbranded sample L-1(0.8) failed this test. R.K.’sKetchup (1.1) and anotherunbranded sample L-2 (1.1)could not meet the requirementsof the BIS but passed as per thePFA Act and the FPO. The BIS, thePFA Act and the FPO have onlyspecified the lower (minimum) limitfor acetic acid and there are nohigher limits. On the other hand, highacetic acid would indicate anextremely sour taste. The maximumlimit for acidity should be given, forwhich we have written to the BIS.

As tomato ketchup is highly acidicin nature, it is better to avoid contactwith metallic vessels or utensils madeof copper and aluminium. Longercontact can dissolve the metallic

content of the vessels andcontaminate the sauce withmetals.

heavy metals. All the brands conformedto these tests.

Is Your Sauce Thick Enough ?(Viscosity)With some brands you tilt the bottleand the sauce comes out very easilywhile with some bottles you have towait for ages for the sauce to trickledown on your samosa. All of us havegone through this experience some timeor the other. What should be the idealthickness of a sauce ? The standardsdo not talk about it. We checked thison our own. Sona Ketchup was foundto be the most viscous, followed byMadhur Ketchup in the brandedcategory.

Salt and ProteinWe wanted to assess the salt andprotein content of all the brands. Checkthe results table to find how much ofsalt and protein are present in your

favourite sauce.

Is the Weight Right ?The Standards of Weights andMeasures (Packaged Commo-dities) Rules, 1977 hasdifferent specifications fordifferent size bottles. For 100-200 gm bottles the variationallowed is 4.5 per cent whichworks out to 9 gm for a 200

gm bottle. Both for 500 gm - 1kg bottles and 1 kg - 10 kg

bottles the variation allowed is15 gm.

The Standards also specify thatproducts of 1000 gm or more need to

label the net weight in kilogram.Madhur Tomato Ketchup, PaulsonTomato Ketchup, R.K.’s TomatoKetchup and Sona Ketchup did notlabel the net weight as per therequirement of the Standard. Onesample of R.K.’s Ketchup was of lessweight. The 1000 gm bottle weighedonly 966gm whereas the variationallowed by the Standards is of 15 gm.The FPO, however, allows a variationof 5 per cent in the net content whichmeans R.K’s Ketchup should weighminimum 950 gm. With 966 gm it meetsthe FPO.

MarkingAll the brands had the completelabelling information except Ohms

Preservatives Used(Benzoic acid)The presence of preservativesprevents the microbiological spoilageand increases the shelf-life of theproduct. But too much of it is notdesirable. With so much of packedinstant food around, we are all the moreworried about the amount ofpreservatives we take.

We checked the amount of preser-vatives in all the brands. The PFA Act,the BIS and the FPO have set the limitat 750 ppm. Paulson Ketchup(1457),Sona Ketchup (898) and oneunbranded sample L-1(2812) werefound with very high levels of benzoicacid. Heinz Ketchup (87) was foundwith the lowest amount of preservative.

Added Colour(Coal Tar Colour)The PFA Act does not allow anypermitted synthetic colours in ketchupor sauce. The BIS allows the additionof permitted colours and additives. TheFPO allows the addition of certaincolours to the ketchup and sauce but itshould not exceed 0.20 gm a kg. SonaKetchup and one unbranded sample L-2 were found with the colour sunsetyellow and hence both failed the PFAtest. Sunset yellow can provoke asthmaattacks, skin rashes, hyperactivity andgastric problems.The brands were also tested for totalsoluble solids, specific gravity and

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11INSIGHT-The Consumer Magazine MARCH-APRIL 2004

Tomato Sauce which did not give thebatch number.

The FPO specifies that the bottle shallbe sealed in such a manner that itcannot be opened without destroyingthe licence number and identificationmark of the manufacturer. Paulson didnot label the FPO licence number as perthe requirement.

We strongly feel that instead of justlabelling ‘preservatives added’, thecompanies should name them. So thatif a person is allergic to a certain preser-vative, he can avoid that product.

How They Tasted(Sensory)We followed the method suggested bythe BIS for the organoleptic (taste)analysis of ketchup/sauce. Our trainedpanellists tested the samples for colour,consistency, absence of defects andflavour. The most preferred was HeinzTomato Ketchup among the nationalbrands and Madhur Sauce among theregional brands.

Areas Of Action•Harmonisation of standards shouldbe done.•Though there is a lower limit for aceticacid, there is no upper limit. Upper limitshould be specified.•The BIS needs to look into the methodto check the preservatives (benzoicacid). The present method is notspecific.•The labelling laws need to be revised.Instead of just writing ‘class IIpreservatives’, the manufacturershould specify the name of thepreservative so that if a person isallergic to a certain preservative he/shecan avoid it.

Manufacturers’ ResponseAs a policy before publishing, weconvey the test results to all themanufacturers, irrespective of whethertheir brands have passed or failed. The

results are posted to their registeredoffices by Registered A.D/ Courier. Allthe manufacturers receive the resultsof their own product only and are giventwo weeks from the date of receipt torespond. Even most consumer groupsin industrially advanced countries donot do this. The extracts from thecompanies’ reply and our response (incolour) are given below.

Hindustan Lever Limited, themanufacturers of Kissan TomatoKetchup and Kissan Tomato Sauce,raised concerns on the ranking basedon sensory attributes and the age of thesamples. They said, “We do not thinkranking on sensory attribute scores is afair representation...For example, ontexture a score may be scaled from 1 to10 from very thin to very thick.Consumers may actually prefer a scoreof 6 and dislike products thicker thanthis. But a quantitative ranking of twoproducts one with 8 and the other with6, will erroneously convey that the verythick product is `better’.”The sensory analysis has been done asper the pattern given in the BIS.

They also felt that the samples used byus for testing were rather old.The samples were purchased from themarket and immediately taken up fortesting well within the expiry period.

Heinz India, the manufacturers of HeinzTomato Ketchup, did not agree to thepresence of benzoic acid in theirproduct. They said that they do not addany preservatives, colour or thickeners/stabilizers/emulsifiers unlike otherbrands. They further said that “Benzoicacid determination is based on BISmethod which is known to giveinterference due to presence of spices.Analyses of raw spices such ascinnamon and clove using this methodgives a benzoic acid reading of 2000-3000 ppm. Heinz in India and anywhereelse in the world does not add benzoicacid or class II preservatives to theirtomato ketchup. We are about pure andnatural.”We tested the brand by the methodsuggested by the BIS and thepreservative calculated as benzoic acidwas found to be 87.

Heinz also wanted to know the methodsused for testing lycopene, sucrose and

viscosity. Regarding lycopene they saidthat “unless the inputs are controlled,the lycopene content will vary frombatch to batch. Though your findingsin this case may be accurate it is notrepresentative of what the concernedproducts can deliver round the year andhence the comparison may mislead theconsumers”.Test methods have been sent to them.The results refer to testing done on aparticular batch.

Heinz also said that “we strongly feelthat there is every likelihood of yourfindings, in their present form,misleading the consumers if published.This might affect our business adverselyand in such a case the responsibilitywill solely lie on CERS.”We are not misguiding any one. BIS isa national statutory standardsinstitution. We have no choice but tofollow the methodology given by them.Besides all care and caution have beentaken and references on the effortsmade by CERS, as you find in thearticle.

J. J. Food Industries, the manufacturersof Madhur Tomato Ketchup andMadhur Premium Tomato Sauce, saidthat they would make correction on theirlabel by printing the weight as 1.2 kginstead of 1200 gm.

Ohms Food Products Pvt Ltd., themanufacturers of Ohms Tomato Sauce,said that they exercise care andattention to maintain the acidity levelas well as the weight of the sample. Theproblem with the acidity and the weightcould have crept in because of humanerror. They said that it was notintentional and in the future they wouldtake care. Regarding the batch numberthey said that they plan to mark thebatch numbers.

Nilon’s Enterprises PrivateLimited, the manufacturers of

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12 INSIGHT-The Consumer Magazine MARCH-APRIL 2004

BLACK COLOR 12

For queries write to us ateditorinsight@yahoo.co.in.

Manufacturers’ Addresses

Kissan Ketchup/SauceHindustan Lever Limited165/166 BackbayReclamation, Mumbai - 400 020Maggi Ketchup/SauceNestle India Ltd., M-5A, Connaught CircusNew Delhi - 110001Tops Ketchup/Tops Continental SauceG.D. Foods Mfg(I) Pvt. Ltd. Plot No. 61,Matiala Complex, New Delhi - 110 059Paulson KetchupKhanna Foods & Chemical Industries360, Naniwala Bagh, Azadpur,Delhi - 110 033Sona Ketchup/Sona Continental SauceEverest Beverages & Food IndustriesD-21, Indl. Estate, Partapur, MeerutOhms SauceOHMS Food Products, Mettu Street,Iyappanthangal, Chennai - 600 056Heinz KetchupHeinz India Private Ltd.The Great Eastern Center70, Nehru Place, New Delhi - 110 019Nilon’s Sauce/KetchupNilon’s Enterprises (P) Ltd., Utran - 425117Druk SauceBhutan Fruit Products Ltd.Tai Industries Ltd., 53A, Mirza Ghalib StreetKolkata - 700 016R.K.’s KetchupRK’s Food Products5/13, G.I.D.C. Pandesara, Surat, GujaratMadhur Ketchup/SauceJ.J. Food Products, G.I.D.C. NarodaAhmedabad - 382 380.

Nilon’s Tomato Ketchup and Nilon’sTomato Sauce, were happy with the factthat their product conformed to all theparameters but they were disappointedwith the sensory score which they feltshould be in the higher range.Sensory testing was done as per themethod given in the BIS. We stand byour results.

Regarding the shortage of 3 gm in theirbottle, they said that though, “it is withinthe acceptable limits, the same is notacceptable to us as a company”. They

said that they are taking suitablemeasures to give more quantity to makeup for any subsequent moisture loss.

Nestle India Limited, the manufacturersof Maggi Tomato Ketchup and MaggiTomato Sauce, were pleased to notethat their products conformed to all theparameters.

R.K.'s Food Products, themanufacturers of R.K.'s TomatoKetchup, were happy with their results.Regarding their brand not meeting theacidity as per the BIS they said thatthey manufacture their products as perthe FPO and the PFA Act, which is clearfrom the results as well.The company complied with therequirements of the PFA Act and FPOfor the acidity parameter; however, itdoes not comply with the IS limit.

They also said that they have startedusing the unit of weight as 1 kg fromMay 2003.

Regarding the less weight in one oftheir samples they said that they useautomatic filling machine and check theweight on a random basis every month.They promised to take extra care in thefuture to avoid such lapses.

Bhutan Fruit Products Limited, themanufacturers of Druk Sauce, wereconcerned about the high yeast andspore count in their product. They saidthat normally yeast and spores aremaintained well within limits. Maybe,the particular bottle had the problem.They gave assurance that in the futurethey would be careful.

Everest Beverages & Food Industries,the manufacturers of Sona TomatoSauce and Sona Tomato Ketchup,

Continental SauceWe tested two brands of sauce fromthe continental sauce category. Thebrands tested were Sona ContinentalSauce and Tops Continental Sauce.This category has vegetables amongthe ingredients.

Both the PFA Act and the FPO havespecifications for this kind of saucebut the BIS has not specified anyStandards.

Sona Continental Sauce was foundwith a bacteria count of 204 million perc.c against the limit set by the FPO as100 million per c.c. The brand alsofailed the test on the yeast and sporecount where the FPO has set the limitat 125 per 1/60 c.m.m. The yeast andthe spore count was found to be 140.PFA Act is silent on these parameters.Sona Continental Sauce (0.8) failedthe test for acidity as per the PFA andFPO. Tops Continental Sauce (1.1)failed the test as per the FPO.

Sona Continental Sauce was foundwith sunset yellow colour whichshould not be present as per the PFAAct and hence it failed this test also.

wrote to us that they need another 15days to investigate the matter but tillour going to press there was noresponse.

The manufacturers of Tops TomatoKetchup, Tops Continental Sauce andPaulson Tomato Ketchup did notrespond till our going to press.

Sauce and KetchupIs there any difference between sauceand ketchup ? Not really. If you go bythe standards, they are one and thesame thing. The standards are alsothe same for them.

Hindustan Lever Ltd. informed us thatin India there is no difference betweenketchup and sauce. Traditionally, inthe US, tomato ketchup is preparedwith tomatoes, sugar, vinegar/aceticacid and spices. It is used as a

dressing or table condiment to beconsumed with chips, burgers, etc.Ketchup is cold and is never heatedas a rule. Tomato sauce, on the otherhand, is made from tomatoes, oil,meat or vegetable stock and spices.Vinegar is not usually used. Saucesare generally served hot.

Most of the manufacturers informedus that ketchup is made with spices,onions and garlic while sauce isgenerally without the spices.