Nutrition Label For Canned Tomato Paste

In a March 2010 article for "Slate," Arthur Allen says that 90 percent of commercially cultivated tomatoes are for the processing industry. Most become tomato paste, a dense concentrate that thickens and flavors foods. Tomato paste is also a simple, quick way of adding nutrition to dishes. In fact, 100 g contain more minerals, vitamins and fiber than the same serving of fresh tomatoes.

Vitamins

A 100 g serving of tomato paste -- about half of a 6-oz. can -- has 30 percent of the recommended daily intake, or RDI, for vitamin A, 2 percent for vitamin C and 21 percent for vitamin E. Aside from specific properties, those three nutrients are antioxidants that neutralize disease-causing molecules called free radicals. The paste contains six of the B vitamins. It provides 11 percent of the RDI for B-6, 4 percent for thiamine, 9 percent for riboflavin, 15 percent for niacin, 1 percent for pantothenic acid and 3 percent for folate. As a group, the B-complex vitamins aid metabolism, making it possible for your digestive system to transform food into energy. That much tomato paste also gives you 14 percent of the RDI for vitamin K, a nutrient that facilitates blood coagulation, preventing hemorrhages.

Minerals

From 100 g of tomato paste, without any salt added to it, you get 4 percent of the RDI for sodium, calcium and zinc. The serving also provides 17 percent of the RDI for iron, 10 percent for magnesium, 8 percent for phosphorous and selenium, 22 percent for potassium, 18 percent for copper and 15 percent for manganese. Minerals have different functions to help keep your body healthy. Iron, for example, facilitates the production of myoglobin and hemoglobin, two proteins that help to carry oxygen throughout your body.

Amino Acids

Your body needs amino acids in order to produce proteins. In 100 g of tomato paste, you have a number of amino acids in varying amounts. The content is sufficient for your body to make 9 percent of the RDI for protein.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the starches, dietary fiber and sugars that foods contain. Your body breaks sugars and starches down into energy. The fiber keeps your bowels regular and helps to maintain cholesterol and glucose within normal ranges. This serving of tomato paste has starch, as well as sucrose, maltose, glucose and fructose for sugars. It also contains 16 percent of the RDI for fiber.

Additional Nutrition

The calories and fats are low in 100 g of tomato paste. The serving has 82 calories, which will take you an 18-minute moderate walk to burn off. It also contains just 1 percent of the RDI for fat.