Ketchup

No E-numberSauces & dressingsOrigin: Plant

Get a personal answer

Pick your family’s diets in the bar above.

Every diet

VeganYes

Gluten-freeYes

HalalYes

KosherYes

KetoDepends

A tablespoon has about 4 grams of sugar, so it depends how much you use.

Low-FODMAPYes

Plain tomato ketchup is low FODMAP, the varieties with garlic or onion powder are not.

The short answer

Ketchup is tomato, vinegar, sugar and salt, and it is safe, vegan and gluten-free. The catch is that a tablespoon carries about 4 grams of sugar and roughly 160 milligrams of sodium, so a bottle that gets used daily is worth measuring.

78/100

Use in moderation

Safe in small amounts; may bother some people or raise blood sugar.

E-numberNone

Comes fromPlant

What it doesSauces & dressings

Glycemic index15

Daily limitNot set

Also calledKetchup, Tomato ketchup

Rules by country

🇺🇸 US FDANot evaluated as an additive

🇪🇺 European UnionNot evaluated as an additive

🇨🇦 Health CanadaNot evaluated as an additive

CaliforniaNo extra rules

Ketchup is a food rather than an additive, so it carries no E-number and no regulator has evaluated it as one. It falls under the general rules for sauces and for the ingredients inside them, and because it is mostly fruit and vegetables it falls under the same hygiene rules as any other jar. In Canada the ingredients must be listed in descending order of weight.

Daily limit: Experts haven’t set a number because normal food amounts are far below any level of concern.

What is it?

The recipe is short: tomato pulp or concentrate, vinegar, sugar or syrup, salt, and a little onion and garlic powder. The vinegar, usually acetic acid at about five percent, is what makes it sharp enough to cut through fat, and the tomato solids carry the colour. The rest is sweetener, and most of the mass is still fruit. A 17-gram tablespoon of a standard jar has about 17 calories and roughly 4 grams of sugar, with the sodium close to 160 milligrams.

Where it comes from: Ketchup is made from tomato pulp or concentrate, cooked down, strained, acidified with vinegar and sweetened. The tomato version grew out of the fermented fish sauces traders brought back in the seventeenth century, and by the nineteenth century the red jar had taken the name.

Why it’s in food

Adding tang to fried food
Sweetening burgers and hot dogs
Moistening sandwiches and wraps
Basing pizza and meatballs
Dipping sauce for snack plates

Often found in

BurgersHot dogsFrench friesPizzaMeatballsOnion ringsSandwiches

Also listed as: Ketchup, Tomato ketchup, Catsup, Ketchup tomato

Health & gut impact

Added sugar in a condimentConcern

Ketchup is one of the sweetest things in a fridge, and nearly all of that sugar is added rather than coming from the tomato. A standard 17-gram tablespoon carries about 4 grams of it, and the generic entry in the USDA records has 21 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

USDA FoodData Central, ketchup

SodiumConcern

A tablespoon of ketchup carries roughly 160 milligrams of sodium, and a quarter-cup serving of the same bottle passes 500. The NHS advises adults to keep salt under 6 grams a day, which is about 2,400 milligrams of sodium.

NHS, salt in your diet

Low in caloriesBenefit

A tablespoon has about 17 calories and almost no fat, so the sweetness is cheap in energy terms. The number to keep an eye on is how often the bottle gets opened rather than how much lands on one plate.

USDA FoodData Central, ketchup

What can I use instead?

Tomato paste

Ratio: Use half the volume and a splash of water, then sharpen it with vinegar

Best for: A thicker sauce with less sugar

Salsa

Ratio: Use it straight from the jar and cut the salt elsewhere in the meal

Best for: A chunkier, fresher topping

Mustard

Ratio: Use a spoonful where the recipe only wants sharpness

Best for: Taking the sweetness out of a glaze

More sauces & dressings:

Apple cider vinegarApple cider vinegar is a fermented apple product with no E-number, and one of the safest things on a label, so it fits every diet. It seasons and preserves rather than nourishes, so reach for it when you want acid without more salt or sugar.Generally safe Balsamic vinegarBalsamic vinegar is an aged grape vinegar with no E-number, and it is safe and fits every diet except low-FODMAP in larger amounts. It is one of the few vinegars carrying real sugar, so measure a tablespoon rather than pouring.Generally safe Barbecue sauceBarbecue sauce is a sweet, salty tomato sauce with molasses in it. It is safe, but a tablespoon carries 4 to 9 grams of sugar and 105 to 260 milligrams of sodium, which makes it one to skip on a low-sugar or low-salt list.Use in moderation Hoisin sauceHoisin is a thick, sweet Chinese barbecue sauce, safe to eat but heavy on sugar and salt, and unsuitable for keto and for strict gluten-free or low-FODMAP diets. For the flavor without the jar, mix soy sauce with a little honey and star anise.Use in moderation

Common questions

Is ketchup bad for you?

Nothing in it is a hazard, and a tablespoon has about 17 calories. The two things worth knowing are the sugar and the salt: roughly 4 grams of sugar and 160 milligrams of sodium in every tablespoon.

Is ketchup vegan?

Yes. The standard recipe is tomato, vinegar, sugar, salt and spice, and every one of those is plant-based. If a brand adds anything animal-derived it has to appear in the ingredient list.

Why does ketchup taste sweet?

Because most of it is a sweetened tomato. The sugar, or the syrup that stands in for it, balances the acidity of the vinegar, and in most jars there is more of it than there is tomato solids. A standard tablespoon has about 4 grams, which is close to a teaspoon.

How much ketchup is too much?

There is no fixed limit, but both numbers accumulate fast. Six tablespoons in a day would be about 24 grams of sugar and close to 1,000 milligrams of sodium, which is a lot of both from a condiment.

Is Ketchup safe?

Use in moderation (78/100). Ketchup is a food rather than an additive, so it carries no E-number and no regulator has evaluated it as one. It falls under the general rules for sauces and for the ingredients inside them, and because it is mostly fruit and vegetables it falls under the same hygiene rules as any other jar. In Canada the ingredients must be listed in descending order of weight.

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Scientific sources & regulatory citations

USDA FoodData Central, ketchup
NHS, salt in your diet