Is tomato paste gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease?

Celiac.com 03/02/2022 - We get more than a few questions about which food items are gluten-free. Lately, we've seen a bunch of questions about tomato paste. Specifically, is tomato paste gluten-free, and safe for people with celiac disease? The answer is that most all tomato paste is naturally gluten-free. Here's the lowdown.

Tomato paste is just highly concentrated tomato sauce with the seeds and skins strained out. Because tomatoes are naturally gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease, nearly all tomato paste will be gluten-free, whether it is labeled as such or not.

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Unless gluten ingredients are added in the manufacturing process, as with Contadina Italian Tomato Paste with Italian Seasonings, which does not list gluten as an allergen, but which the company says is NOT gluten-free. This may be due to trace wheat flour in seasoning ingredients. 

Some brands, like Cento, French's, and others specifically label their tomato paste as gluten-free. That means it has been tested to under 20ppm gluten content.

However, many brands, like Del Monte, do not specifically label their tomato paste as gluten-free. Like many products that are naturally gluten-free, many manufacturers don't bother to test their products and label them gluten-free.

That's not necessarily a big deal, but some people like to play it safe. For anyone looking to be sure, look for brands of tomato paste that specifically label their products as gluten-free.

Here's list of top brands of gluten-free tomato paste.