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Tomato is one of the most important crops in the world from an economic point of view (159 million tons produced per year) but also nutritionally, with an average annual consumption of 18 kg per European. This fruit consumed fresh or processed is recognized for its beneficial health effects, in particular on cardiovascular risks. Its nutritional profile is however variable and depends in particular on genotype, cultural practices and climatic conditions. The tomato industry brings together many transformation processes including the production of tomato powder, considered as a strategic ingredient in the food industry (color, taste, micronutrients).

In this context, TomHealth project propose a highly integrative concept of research whose objectives are:

• understand and predict the biophysical mechanisms which drives to the build-up and compartmentation of phytomicronutrients in various genotypes and cultural practices
• identify the molecular mechanisms and the critical steps which affect tomato powder qualities and propose an optimized process
• determine physical and chemical factors affecting the bioaccessibility and bioavailibilty of phytomicronutrients
• stydy the preventive effect of tomato powder supplementation on health benefit (study on mices and clinical study).

Figure 1 : Organisation of TomHealth project

Project partners are :