Testing of Tomato Products Reveals Shocking Results

Four Corners investigated tomato products.

The topic is food and drink.

The investigation happened on Monday, 27 July 2026, at 4:40 am.

Some big tomato brands and supermarkets are selling products that do not match their labels.

Testing showed many tomato paste and passata products are from China, not Australia or Italy.

About half of these products are from Xinjiang, a region known for using forced labor.

Most of Leggo's tomato paste products had misleading labels, claiming to be from Australian farms.

All of Leggo's products were found to be from China, despite saying 'Australian grown'.

Coles Italian tomato paste and Aldi's Remano paste also failed the test.

This is part of a big investigation into what is really in the food we buy.

Coles's 'Italian' tomato paste was found to be from Chinese tomatoes.

The testing was done by Source Certain, a leading forensic laboratory.

They analyzed 221 processed tomato products from 39 brands.

Twenty-two percent of the products failed the country-of-origin test.

All the failed products came from China, with 53% from Xinjiang.

The failed Leggo's products said they were 'Australian grown' on the packaging.

Xinjiang is a big tomato-growing region, but it has faced criticism for using forced Uyghur labor.

The US banned tomato products from Xinjiang in 2021 due to forced labor concerns.

The lab findings are important for Australia, which does not have a ban on products made with forced labor.

Last week, the Trump administration put a tariff on Australian goods, saying Australia does not effectively ban forced-labor imports.

The Albanese government disagreed with the claim and called the tariff 'completely unjustified'.

Some products failed and passed the test.

Source Certain tested 33 Leggo's tomato paste products, and 27 failed.

Two-thirds of the failed Leggo's products were linked to Xinjiang.

Another product that failed was Rosso Gargano passata, which was labeled as Italian but came from China.

Well-known brands like Mutti, SPC, and Woolworths passed the country-of-origin test.

Source Certain has developed ways to verify where products come from.

They analyze a food's unique chemical fingerprint to determine its origin.

The lab compares the fingerprint with verified reference samples to find a match.

Cameron Scadding from Source Certain says there is a lot of opportunity for food to be misrepresented.

The lab said it was more than 98% certain that the failed tomatoes came from China.

You can see what other grocery items were tested on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Food supply chains are complex, and problems can happen at any stage.

Leggo's owner Simplot disagreed with the test results and said it had a trusted supplier.

Simplot said it had documentation tracing the failed products back to Australian farms.

Coles and Aldi also rejected the test results, saying there was no evidence their products came from China.

Coles will do independent testing to confirm the provenance of its tomato paste.

Aldi said it partnered with reputable suppliers who assured them the products were from the stated origin.

The importer of Rosso Gargano also rejected the findings and said it had access to detailed traceability data.

The findings are disturbing and have implications beyond misleading labels.

They raise concerns that consumers may be paying a premium for products they think are local.

Australian tomato growers may be competing against cheaper imported products pretending to be local.

For products from Xinjiang, the consequences are even more significant.

Nyrola Elima, part of the Uyghur community, was surprised to hear about products marketed as Australian coming from China.

She was shocked to learn Australia had not taken steps to remove Xinjiang tomato products from its supply chains.

Ms Elima said China hides its atrocities and uses propaganda to portray forced labor as an opportunity.

A promotional video from the Minfeng County government showcases a tomato processing plant in southern Xinjiang.

The video features Uyghur workers praising their jobs, but Ms Elima questions their treatment.

Ms Elima says the company behind the video is ultimately controlled by a state-run paramilitary organization.

Former ACCC chairman Allan Fels said the findings were deeply concerning and called for stronger action against food fraud.

He said regulators should do more to investigate food fraud and hold companies to account.

Mr Scadding said consumers should not assume the problem is limited to tomatoes.

He thinks there is opportunity for misrepresentation in every aisle of a supermarket.

The testing was done by analyzing the unique chemical fingerprint of each product.

You can watch the full investigation on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Scientists tested 221 processed tomato products from 39 brands.

See more ABC coverage in your search results.

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