Hello, tomato! Discover our waste-reducing tomato puree ingredient

Whether it’s in a salad, soup or pasta sauce, the ubiquitous tomato remains a firm favourite across global households. Sweet yet savoury, tangy and undeniably moreish, tomato-based products are a hit with consumers because of both their delicious taste and naturally high vitamin and antioxidant content.

However, there is trouble on the horizon for the beloved tomato. As with many crops, climate change is altering the environment in which it ideally grows – and hotter temperatures are at odds with the tomato’s ideal growing conditions (18-25°C). On top of that, a large portion of the current crop never makes it to consumers’ plates. One-third of all food produced in the world – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – is lost or wasted every year, and tomatoes are no exception. Many are discarded as they aren’t deemed suitable for selling fresh, either due to their appearance or level of ripeness – however, their taste and inherent natural goodness is just as excellent as a perfect-looking crop.

To try and reduce this level of needless waste, we are saving tomatoes originally headed for landfill in Belgium by sending them to our local Rijkevorsel processing facility, where they are transformed into a delicious tomato puree.

This new, tasty and versatile tomato puree ingredient can be incorporated into a range of products: from healthy beverages and soups to tortillas and delicious sauces. By using it in their NPD, manufacturers can not only help save fresh tomatoes from being discarded but can also enjoy the SVZ benefits that come with all our ingredients: stringent quality assurance, minimal transportation and processing, and a guaranteed delicious flavour.

At SVZ, we firmly believe that implementing incremental, positive changes to the way we do agriculture can make a big difference in the long term. You can read more about our ongoing efforts to create a greener food and beverage industry, as part of the c2030 initiative, here.

Want to learn more about our new sustainable tomato puree ingredient? Get in touch today to speak to the SVZ team and discover how this new extension to our product portfolio can transform your next food and beverage innovation.