Jerusalem – Based on a petition from Israeli food manufacturer and ketchup competitor, Osem, the Health Ministry has ruled that the American-based H. J. Heinz Company must change its labeling to “Tomato Seasoning” for products sold in Israel.
HAARETZ.com reports that Osem’s challenge stated that Heniz’s product does not sufficiently meet the Standards Institute of Israel’s guidelines for how much tomato paste a product must contain in order to qualify as ‘ketchup.’
The Ministry agreed and ruled that Heinz must now change its Hebrew labeling to read ‘Tomato Seasoning.’
However, Diplomat, the importer which handles Heinz products in Israel, will be filing its own petition asking that the Israeli definition of ketchup be changed to accommodate Heinz’s product.
According to sources, Diplomat’s petition has the backing of the Health Ministry’s food division to reduce the standard for tomato paste from 10% to 6%.
As report by Vos Iz Neias