Whole tomato purée from Pomodorino del Piennolo : a zero-waste product with higher bioactive compound levels than traditional purées after short- and long-term storage

Tomato processing, including purée production, generates substantial by-products–mainly peels and seeds, rich in bioactive compounds but typically discarded. In a sustainability-oriented framework, this study developed and characterized a zero-waste whole tomato purée obtained from Pomodorino del Piennolo cultivars (“Acampora,” “Lucariello,” “Riccia di San Vito,” “Sbirro,” and “Vesuvio”) by retaining peels and seeds, and compared it with traditional purée. Physicochemical properties, organic acids, color parameters, lycopene content, phenolic composition, antioxidant activity, pectin content, and viscosity were evaluated after 2 days and after 6 months of storage at 25°C. Whole tomato purées showed significantly higher dry matter, total soluble solids, sugars, titratable acidity, and organic acid content than traditional purées. The inclusion of peels and seeds led to a significant (p ≤.05) increase in lycopene (up to +594%) and total phenolic content (up to +123%). Lycopene levels ranged from 1.91 to 4.01 mg/100 g in traditional purées and from 15.45 to 27.83 mg/100 g in whole purées, while total phenolics ranged from 64.73 to 86.86 mg GAE/100 g and from 74.86 to 95.41 mg GAE/100 g, respectively. These improvements were associated with more intense red coloration and higher antioxidant activity. Whole purées also exhibited higher pectin content and viscosity, enhancing texture without additives. Although storage caused partial losses of bioactive compounds, whole purées maintained superior nutritional and functional characteristics. Compared to previous whole-fruit purée studies, this work provides a red cultivar specific evaluation and applies a zero-waste hot-break process with an optimized vacuum step.