Posted on 08/25/2015 5:52:35 AM PDT by JoeProBono
In the United States, Heinz is nearly synonymous with ketchup, but Israel has kicked the brand out of that category of condiments all together.
Israels Health Ministry recently ruled that the Heinz brand product does not contain enough tomato solids to be labeled as ketchup in Israeli stores. It will now be relegated to the title tomato seasoning, Ynet reported.
The ruling was the result of a lobbying campaign by Israeli food manufacturer Osem, which produces a large portion of the ketchup consumed in Israel. Israelis have long complained that local monopolies distort the economy, and especially the food market, leading to high prices on products like cottage cheese and Milky brand pudding.
In a letter the company sent to retailers back in January, Osem claimed that it had tested Heinz ketchup in a leading European external laboratory and found that it only contained 21 percent tomato concentrate instead of the 61 percent it advertised to consumers. Israeli trade standards require ketchup to have at least 41 percent tomato concentrate.
The letter sparked a war of words between Osem and Diplomat, the company that distributes Heinz ketchup in Israel. Osem controls about two thirds of the market for Israeli ketchup, leaving Heinz in a distant second place in terms of sales.
Obviously, Osem, which has a monopoly, would be happy if it were only possible to sell their product in Israel, a spokesperson for Diplomat told Ynet in January. But Osems claims have no substance.
Osem fired back, claiming that no one else had raised legitimate concerns about the composition of Heinzs product.
According to Haaretz, Diplomat is currently petitioning to change the Health Ministrys standards in order to allow Heinz to qualify as ketchup once more.
In the meantime, consumers may be left wondering about Heinz ketchups actual tomato content.
For some unexplained reason, even after nine years in the Navy, I never did acquire a taste for Brasso. :=)
I had so much of that stuff on my hands that everything I put in my mouth tasted like it.
I didn't create it myself, in case you were wondering. I found it on the web.
Indeed it does if the pants are made French fries.
Yes, it is pretty expensive for fast food but honestly, most all fast food is starting to get too pricey for my likes. You should splurge and have a little of everything. I love the bacon cheese burger on Texas toast. Oyster poboy... I haven’t had one of those since the 80’s... now my mind is going to be stuck on that.
Now I gotta see if Brookshire's got in a shipment of Blue Bell... I shoulda stopped at Braum's in Tyler when I was driving through. Oh well.
Yum! and welcome home. :) Hope you found some Bluebell, my mother went out on a homemade vanilla quest and she said it had been so long since she had had any, that she intended to try and eat the whole container. hahaha!
I make my own ketchup out of my home grown tomatos.
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