LMAO ... my guess is they are 'bred' for the sole purpose of food addictive cause they are cheap and easy!
And YES some ketchup has RED DYE in it so watch your labels and even than you cannot be sure because if they are using what is technically a 'spice/flavoring' to add color like the BEATLES which is 'natural' and can be called a flavoring than it will NOT be LISTED as that it will just say 'spices/flavoring' to protect their 'trade secrets' of spices / flavoring ... the 'cheaper' brands are more likely use 'cheap' tomatoes so either the ones that did not 'ripen' to be nice and juicy red but rather stayed mostly 'green' and cannot be sold for prime costs
The labeling rules for ingredients have been HORRIBLE for eons ... just look at how many ingredients list 'modified' in front of them .... and consumers just assume that is all cool ... but what does MODIFIED mean?
As a Celiac it amazes me how many things have 'gluten added' to them in order to make them go farther for cheaper and poor consumers are being fed unnecessary CARBS in their food ... and we wonder why were are an obese society?
I was shocked when I was told when you buy what you think is PURE CHEESE that if it lists 'modified milk ingredients' that what you are eating is not REAL FRESH cheese anymore .... it is processed and that process likely removes MOST of the nutrients from the milk that makes 'cheese' a healthy option!
So for those cheese companies that use 'modified' milk when there was an 'excess of milk' in comparison to market demand they take that milk and chemically process it so it is DEHYDRATED and shelf stable and than it is stored for who knows how long and than when milk supply gets 'low' they than can 'rehydrate' the product and turn it into cheese with a tiny bit of 'fresher' milk and so forth .... and for someone like ME that is SCARY cause often that rehydration process can result in them adding gluten to the cheese so that it becomes 'thick/creamy' again cause much of the cream fat texture is lost in the dehydration process!
It just really is scary all the varied food processes out there!