In the US, there are plenty of canned tomato products -- sauce, crushed, puree, whole -- that are pretty much just tomatoes. I find that it's hard to beat canned tomatoes, because the fresh tomatoes available at the supermarket are cardboard. The canned sauces can be canned close to where they're picked, and thus don't have to be optimized for transportation and storage. And they're convenient.
Like the article says, the glass jar stuff is loaded with sugar.
Of course I still enjoy fresh tomatoes from my garden every summer, but am not too disappointed if I don't get enough to freeze or can.
Pretty much just tomatoes, and then loads of salt. I have to hunt around to find some that don’t have 20% of my daily sodium, per serving. It’s fine to eat 20% in one serving of a meal, but tomatoes are always accompanied by other stuff, including ingredients that are always salty, like cheese.
Let's also keep in mind that the folks who are notoriously exposed to sugar also happen to be poor, and those folks may not have the time to prepare meals that they otherwise could if they weren't poor. I grew up in a relatively poor family (five boys, single mom most of the time), and my mom spent a lot of her time struggling with her own issues. She can still cook a mean lasagna, but those dinners were tempered by macaroni and hotdog slices (which I love, btw, and still make). Ketchup (edit: and single packaged cheese) on toast? Yes please!
I make my own tomato sauce. Super easy and freezes well. Tastes better too. There’s also plenty of non-sugary options at the supermarket if you’re pressed for time.
Where do you get good tasting tomatoes though? It’d become increasingly hard and expensive pursuit in the US for example, not sure where you get yours.
Like the article says, the glass jar stuff is loaded with sugar.
Of course I still enjoy fresh tomatoes from my garden every summer, but am not too disappointed if I don't get enough to freeze or can.