Second-home cupboard stockers
If you visit occasionally, tins that can be kept unopened as directed on the pack give you ingredients for sauces, soups or stews. Check best-before dates so you can use older stock first.
Who is this for?
Cooks comparing sugar labels
If you want a plain tomato base without sugar listed as an ingredient, compare exact variants and their sugars figures per 100g. A lower figure does not, by itself, make a tin a ‘reduced sugar’ product.
Small households using part of a tin
If a 400g tin lasts beyond one meal, check its after-opening directions before stocking several. The checked products give different refrigerated use-within periods.
What should you check?
Start with the exact variant’s ingredient list and per-100g nutrition panel, then check whether the pack size and storage directions suit the length of your visits.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs and survey context |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar wording | Distinguish an ‘of which sugars’ label value from a ‘reduced sugar’ claim. Compare figures per 100g on the same basis; do not infer an authorised comparative claim from the smaller number. | I want to compare tins without mistaking a lower label figure for a product claim. In the Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland’s 2024 survey of 611 adults, 35% named nutritional claims on the back of packs as their primary source of nutritional information when shopping; that figure is not specific to tinned tomatoes. |
| Ingredients and format | Read the exact variant’s ingredient list alongside its sugars per 100g. Check whether it is plain, flavoured, chopped or peeled: ASDA’s checked Napolina garlic variant lists sugar, while its plain counterparts need their own label checks. | I’d like a plain base that I can season myself. In the same Northern Ireland survey, 49% reported actively using traffic-light labelling when shopping; that measures label use, not a preference for any tomato tin. |
| Cupboard stock | Check unopened storage directions, the best-before date and how many tins are in a pack. GOV.UK identifies best-before as a quality date and includes canned tomatoes among foods that carry one. | For occasional stays, I want to use tins before their quality date rather than leave a large pack untouched between visits. |
| Opened tins | Read the product’s directions for transferring, covering and refrigerating leftovers. The checked KTC tin says to consume them within two days; the checked Mutti finely chopped tin says within five days. | If I’m cooking for one or two, I need a plan for the remaining tomatoes before I open a 400g tin. |
What can catch you out?
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Calling a lower-numbered tin ‘reduced sugar’
A per-100g comparison tells you what the displayed labels say; it does not establish that a comparative nutrition claim meets the applicable rules in Great Britain.
Use the label figure to compare exact tins, and treat ‘reduced sugar’ as a separate claim requiring substantiation for the product.
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Assuming every variant from a brand has the same ingredients
ASDA’s ingredient list for Napolina Chopped Tomatoes with Garlic includes sugar. That does not describe every Napolina tin.
Check the plain and flavoured versions separately if you want a tomato base without sugar listed as an ingredient.
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Buying more tins than you can rotate
A best-before date concerns quality, according to GOV.UK. It is worth checking dates when buying stock for a home you visit infrequently.
Follow the pack’s unopened storage directions and put older tins where you will use them first.
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Leaving part-used tomatoes in the can
The checked M&S, KTC and ASDA products direct you to transfer leftovers to a suitable non-metallic container, cover and refrigerate them. Their stated use-within periods differ.
Keep a suitable container at the second home and follow the instructions on the tin you open.
Relevant brand references
M&S
M&S Italian Tomatoes is a plain chopped 400g tin whose product label lists 2.5g sugars per 100g.
- Its listed ingredients are chopped Italian tomatoes, tomato juice and citric acid; sugar is not listed.
- M&S directs you to transfer and refrigerate leftovers, then consume them within three days.
KTC
KTC Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice is a plain 400g option listed by ASDA at 2.8g sugars per 100g.
- The checked ingredients are tomatoes, tomato juice and citric acid, with no sugar listed.
- Its after-opening directions say to transfer, cover and refrigerate leftovers and consume them within two days.
Mutti
Mutti Finely Chopped Tomatoes is a 400g option if you prefer finer pieces to standard chopped tomatoes.
- ASDA lists 2.8g sugars per 100g for this finely chopped product; its ingredients are tomatoes and salt.
- The same listing gives 0.30g salt per 100g and says to refrigerate after opening and consume within five days.
ASDA
ASDA Chopped Tomatoes is a plain 400g own-label tin listed at 3.8g sugars per 100g.
- Its listed ingredients are tomatoes, concentrated tomato juice and citric acid; sugar is not listed.
- ASDA directs you to transfer and refrigerate unused contents and use them within four days.
Napolina
Check Napolina’s plain and flavoured chopped tomatoes as separate products when comparing ingredients.
- Joybuy lists tomatoes and citric acid, but not sugar, for its plain Chopped Tomatoes 4 x 400g pack.
- ASDA’s listing for Napolina Chopped Tomatoes with Garlic includes sugar, so the plain pack’s ingredient list cannot stand in for the garlic variant’s.
Tinned tomatoes on Joybuy
These peeled, plum and chopped tomato tins offer single tins and multipacks to consider for an occasional-use cupboard. Compare the current labels for each exact product before choosing by sugars figure or ingredient list.
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Mutti Peeled Tomatoes 400g
A single peeled-tomato tin may suit a short stay when you do not want to stock a multipack. Check its current sugars figure, ingredient list and after-opening directions on the pack.
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Laila Canned Plum Tomatoes 12 x 400g
For repeated stays, a 12-tin pack is worth weighing against how quickly you use cupboard stock. Check best-before dates and the current nutrition and ingredient labels before buying that quantity.
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Napolina Peeled Plum Tomatoes 4 x 400g
This four-tin peeled-plum pack sits between a single tin and a larger cupboard stock-up. Compare its own label with the chopped and flavoured Napolina variants rather than assuming their ingredients match.
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Mutti Peeled Tomatoes 4 x 400g
If you use peeled tomatoes across several visits, compare this four-tin pack with the single 400g tin. Check the current pack’s best-before dates, per-100g sugars and storage instructions.
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Napolina Chopped Tomatoes 4 x 400g
For a plain chopped base, Joybuy lists 3.6g sugars per 100g and ingredients of tomatoes and citric acid for this four-pack. Its directions say to transfer opened contents to a non-metallic container, refrigerate and use within two days; check the current pack when buying.
Common questions
Does a lower sugars figure mean a tin is ‘reduced sugar’?
No. An ‘of which sugars’ figure lets you compare labels, but does not establish an authorised comparative claim. Great Britain’s nutrition-claims guidance, explained by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Committee of Advertising Practice, treats comparative claims separately from ordinary nutrition information.
Which checked plain tins displayed the lowest sugars per 100g?
M&S Italian Tomatoes listed 2.5g sugars per 100g. The checked KTC Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice and Mutti Finely Chopped Tomatoes each listed 2.8g per 100g. These are figures for those exact product listings, not a ranking of every available tin; check the current pack before buying.
Do flavoured chopped tomatoes have the same ingredients as plain ones?
Not necessarily. ASDA’s checked Napolina Chopped Tomatoes with Garlic lists sugar, while Joybuy’s plain Napolina Chopped Tomatoes 4 x 400g listing does not. Read the ingredient list for the exact variant you intend to stock.
How should I manage unopened tins at a second home?
Follow each pack’s storage directions and rotate tins by their best-before dates. GOV.UK identifies best-before as a quality date and includes canned tomatoes among the foods that carry one.
What should I do with tomatoes left after opening a tin?
Follow that product’s instructions for transferring, covering and refrigerating leftovers, then use them within its stated period. For example, ASDA’s checked KTC listing says within two days, while its Mutti Finely Chopped Tomatoes listing says within five days.