Tomato's twisted truth: The Australian or Italian tomato you bought may actually be Chinese

Tomato is often a trivia question for the young minds if it's a vegetable or fruit, but this time an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corp claims to have thrown up a very different reality that is happening across many major food brands.

According to an ABC report, scientific testing has showed that one of Australia's biggest tomato brands and two major supermarkets have been selling tomato products that do not match the coutry of origin as described in their labels.

Also Read: Over 1.6 million dozen eggs recalled across US

Tomato's origin: What forensic test reveals

ABC said that forensic tests conducted for Four Corners showed many tomato paste and passata products are actually Chinese as against their labels claiming to be from Australia or Italian.

US food giant Simplot-owned Leggo's strongly claims on product labels that they source from Australian farms. However, tests showed most products in tins, cans, and bottles, have misleading labels.

Forensic testing shows some tomatoes are sourced from the Xinjiang region.

Coles' Italian tomato paste, along with Aldi's own-brand Remano tomato paste, also failed the test.

The findings come from an eight-month Four Corners investigation examining the contents of everyday food products sold to consumers. The tests were conducted by conducted by forensic laboratory Source Certain, which the ABC said has worked with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Scotland Yard, Interpol and the Australian Federal Police.

Also Read: FSSAI suspends licence of Westend Agro Products

Tomato investigation numbers

The investigation analysed 221 processed tomato products from 39 brands, including tomato paste, passata and diced tomatoes.

It found that 22% of the products failed country-of-origin tests, while another 6% were flagged for further checks.

All the products that failed the tests were traced to China. Of these, 53% were linked to Xinjiang, while the rest were confirmed as Chinese but their exact region of origin could not be identified.

Source Certain tested 33 Leggo's tomato paste products bought from supermarkets in different states. Of these, 27, or about 80%, failed the tests. Around two-thirds of the failed Leggo's products were linked to Xinjiang. Six of the seven Coles tomato paste products that failed were also traced to the region.

Also, Rosso Gargano passata, which is available in Coles, failed the test as the forensic profile was consistent with tomatoes that are grow in China while its labels say these are Italian.

The findings put food labelling rules under he spotlight, as questions rise whether Australia's highly concentrated grocery market gives consumers enough transparency and choice.

As for the US market, the government had in 2021 banned tomato products' imports from Xinjiang over forced labour concerns, concerns which China denies, ABC reported.

What companies have to say about tomato origin

Simplot told Bloomberg it takes product integrity and responsible sourcing “extremely seriously.”

“We are confident our Australian Grown claims are accurate and there is nothing in our records to indicate these products are anything other than Australian grown,” a Simplot spokesperson told Bloomberg. The spokesperson said they have checked all the batch codes provided by the ABC.

"Simplot maintains comprehensive traceability, supplier verification and internal and external independent audits … across our supply chain," Simplot said in a statement.

A Coles spokesperson said the retailer had "no evidence" that Chinese tomatoes were used in the tomato paste products identified in the programme, Bloomberg reported.

"We strongly reject any suggestion that Coles knowingly misled customers, engaged in food fraud or profited from food fraud,” they said.

"As we take food integrity seriously and to confirm the provenance of our own brand tomato paste, we will be commissioning independent testing," Coles said.

An Aldi spokesperson also denied the claims. The spokesperson said, suppliers are required “to have full evidence of traceability of both raw materials and production of these two products, which are sourced from Italy and Australia,” according to Bloomberg.

Tomato products from brands including Mutti, SPC, Woolworths, Providore D'Italia and Annalisa passed the country-of-origin tests. Leggo's and Coles also passed the tests for their diced tomatoes and passata products.