It isn't every day that you find out a processed food product might offer more nutrients than its unprocessed counterpart. But that is exactly the case when it comes to the lycopene content of tomato paste and ketchup versus that of fresh tomatoes. Lycopene is a reddish carotenoid found in fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes red peppers watermelon guava and pink grapefruit. And it's true that the bioavailability of lycopene from tomato paste is higher than that of fresh tomatoes.