**6. Conclusion**

Tomato is a food product available all year round and is highly consumed by populations around the world. Tomato carotenoids have demonstrated antioxidant and protective effects against chronic diseases. Among these carotenoids, lycopene, in particular, has shown distinct antioxidant and anticancer properties at cellular levels. Numerous studies highlighted the potential benefits of tomato carotenoids in delaying or preventing the development of chronic degenerative diseases. Nevertheless, further research is required to better elucidate the beneficial health effects of these carotenoids as well as their precise modes of action in the risk reduction of chronic diseases. Considering the reported positive implications of tomatoes and their products in chronic disease prevention, dietary intake of naturally occurring carotenoidrich tomato and processed tomato products should be highlighted and recommended.

## **Acknowledgements**

This work was financed by the ongoing project PRIMA H2020 GA2032, FunTomP— Functionalized Tomato Products (https://funtomp.com/), a multidisciplinary project involving 16 countries, that aims to reformulate traditional Mediterranean tomato products into different functional foods using leaf proteins (by-products of sugar beet processing) and olive powder and novel and eco-friendly processing technologies that will minimally affect nutrients, with extra health benefits while keeping a sustainable product and process cycle and by valorizing agricultural waste.
