[Evaluation of the quality of tomato paste existing in the Mexican market]

Quality evaluation of tomato paste offered in the mexican market: In Latin America there are not enough studies about the nutritive value of processed foods or over nutrient alterations before reaching the consumer. A global quality evaluation was made to five different commercial brands of tomato purée with two can size of each brand. This purée is one of the food products with the highest consumption in Mexico. Packaging analysis was also carried out on the canned samples. The solid content and cost of each can showed wide variations. Defects were observed in colour and level of fungal counts. The results obtained in this work allowed to select the best tomato purée, based on the relation cost-nutrient supply.