Secrets of our Food: The Hidden Ketchup Chronicles | ENDEVR Documentary

The world’s most consumed fruit has an untold story. The industrialization of the humble tomato preceded the globalized economy that was to follow. It is now as much of a commodity as wheat, rice, or petrol. The tomato’s ability to create strongly identifiable products, such as ketchup, pizza sauce, soups, sauces, drinks, or frozen dishes is unbeatable. As early as 1897, ten years before Ford started to mass-produce cars, Heinz was already converting tomatoes into standardized cans of puree. They were one of the first companies to understand the power of branding.

We used to grow 40-50 tomato plants from seed every year on our farm. Home-grown tomatoes don't need sugar or salt or anything added to make them delicious. Every year I canned about 50 quarts of 100% tomato sauce, plus enjoyed plenty of fresh slices and had many to give away to family and neighbors. We also grew basil, oregano, and onions for use in tomato sauces. Stuck in a condo now and only have space for 8 tomato plants in bags on the back porch, as the HOA doesn't allow gardens. It's OK, I'm 72 and don't have quite as much energy as I used to when I was gardening a 1,000 sq.ft. plot.

I am sick to learn of these abusive practices. I will spread the word! Thank you for your work.

This is why we need country of origin information on labels. If Heinz wants to use Chinese ingredients, they should have to include this info on the label.

So everyone who loves tomatoes needs to GROW THEIR OWN👍🏿💯💯💯

I had done my academic research and paper base on this same topic and found so many flaws in the food industry which was my main thesis “ DECEPTIVE MARKETING “. Supply Chain and Logistics are a major problem and the FDA just overlooks because of so many bribery and corruption. Facts!!

Heinz closed the ketchup plant in southern Ontario so they can make it elsewhere cheaper. Thankfully, a Canadian company has reopened the plant and they only use local tomatoes..

Wow, excellent documentary! I’m not surprised it’s this bad. I’m so glad I grow and produce my own food as much as possible, and keep my eyes open to be aware of what’s going on in the world. Greed breeds inhumane behaviour. :(

My husband is from Senegal, West Africa. He uses a lot of tomato paste when cooking. I live alone now. I'm no longer buying manufactured products. I plant all agriculture food that I want to eat as much as possible. I drink tea from my backyard, no sugar. I don't drink coffee. No soda and no juice either. Tea from my property and well water.

It's not just tomatoes. It's everything.

When Heinz pulled out of Canada, we switched entirely to French’s for our condiments. Canadian tomatoes taste fantastic. Personally. I love it every time a foreign company pulls out. Canada needs to focus on her own food system and her own employment. I eat local as much as possible, even when it means less variety. I think it’s healthier to eat a cabbage or a local apple than it is to import oranges from far away.

My grandfather worked for Jack Heinz in England during WWII. The company set up plants there to help alleviate the food shortages at that time. It saddens me to hear of the callous nature of the industry today.

Tomatoes, like most fruits at the grocery store, don't even taste that good anymore. We grow our own.

Ketchup will never taste the same from now on, thank you for this rich documentary.

I stopped eating tomato sauce because of the sugar content but now I am really glad I did, great documentary! I will now check all the jars of Italian pasta sauces and every can of tomatoes. I don’t have the space or the climate to grow my own. I can go without and buy locally grown vegetables which grow in my climate.

I had no idea the tomato business was like this. I am glad I watched this video. The tomato products I assumed were made in the USA under civilized production processes will never be the same for me either.

I don’t even eat hienz, they have cut too many corners and stopped using real sugar, to use cheap and diabetic inducing high fructose corn syrup. Its not recognized by the body/ pancreas as sugar. So its not broken down as sugar. It builds up in the blood, putting blood sugar levels higher and higher, until you’re 30 with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Not just hienz, many products we eat have stopped using sugar to use the cheaper high fructose corn syrup. I won’t buy anything with that poison in it. I’m an epidemiologist, believe me or not, but just look at the obesity epidemic and diabetes epidemic and when sugar was sold out for high fructose corn syrup

I have a medical condition that requires a very limited and specific diet to prevent brain damage ( it is called PKU if anyone wants to know) and if I do not know exactly what is in my food, I can be damaged for the rest of my life. This is shocking that they can put things in and not declare it to the consumer. I don't know if the EU (where I live) allows that but I know there are many many hundreds if not 1000's of people in USA that have the same condition I was born with and this is terrifying!

WOW !!! The translator guy is actually pushing back against the plant manager ! Great to see someone that passionate about the subject matter.

This is why salsa now outsells ketchup in the US, and good salsa is fresh, not paste based. It is why I prefer tomato pie to pizza. Pizza is a WWII product made from tomato paste at a time when fresh tomatoes were less available. It is why locally grown tomatoes (especially heirloom) taste so much better than supermarket tomatoes. It’s also why so many people grow their own tomatoes.