A recent BBC investigation uncovered that numerous tomato purees marketed as "Italian" in UK and German supermarkets, and some in the US, actually contained tomatoes from China. Specifically, tests by Australian origin verification company Source Certain on 64 purées found that 17 contained Chinese tomatoes, with 10 of these produced by the Italian Petti group. An undercover journalist also reportedly filmed barrels from Xinjiang Guannong Tomato Products Co Ltd, a Chinese company sanctioned in the US for using forced labor, inside a Petti group factory in Tuscany.
Following the exposé, major retailers like Tesco and Rewe immediately suspended supply or recalled the affected products. However, other supermarkets such as Waitrose, Morrisons, and Edeka stated that their own independent tests contradicted the BBC's findings and found no evidence of Chinese tomatoes in their products. Despite this, a general manager from Italian Food, part of the Petti group, admitted that Chinese tomatoes were being sold in Europe, noting that "no one in Europe wants Chinese tomatoes" but they could be sourced for a "best price possible."
The scandal led to a significant upheaval in the tomato paste market, with Italian processors reportedly reducing imports of Chinese tomato concentrate by 76%. This left China with a substantial stockpile of 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes of tomato paste. Consequently, Chinese tomato exports to Western Europe and Italy dramatically decreased, with the surplus being redirected to Eastern Europe, Central America, and the Far East. Tomato production in China is also projected to fall significantly in the coming year.
The implicated products include own-brand purées from ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons, and Essential Waitrose, which often had "Italian" in their names or descriptions. The Italian company Antonio Petti was identified as a major recipient, having imported over 36 million kg of tomato paste from Chinese companies, including Xinjiang Guannong, between 2020 and 2023. The UK Department for Business and Trade and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs expressed serious concerns about forced labor in supply chains.
