Israel: Heinz loses ketchup label and can now only be branded as tomato seasoning

The iconic Heinz tomato ketchup will no longer be called ketchup in Israel after the Ministry of Health there ruled that the product did not contain enough tomato solids to be classified as ketchup.

Instead, it will move a step lower and be sold as tomato seasoning, Ynet News reported, according to the Times of Israel. The ruling however will only affect the Hebrew label version, the newspaper said.

Israeli trade standards require ketchup products to have at least 41% tomato concentrate. Heinz's competitor in Israel, Osem tested its ketchup and alleged that it contained only 21% concentrate.

The newspaper said the ruling by the ministry was the result of a lobbying campaign by Osem, which controls about two-thirds of the market for ketchup in the country.

In a letter sent to retailers in January, Osem claimed that tests of Heinz ketchup found it only contained 21% tomato concentrate instead of the 61% advertised.

The newspaper says that Diplomat, the company that distributes Heinz in Israel, is now seeking to have Heinz's prized ketchup status to be restored by proposing that the ministry lower its ketchup standards.

A Heinz Europe spokesman told the BBC: "The word ketchup is indicated in English on the front of the bottle while recognising that the Israeli standard for ketchup has yet to be brought in line with US and European accepted international standards, the back label of our ketchup sold in Israel reflects current local requirements for ingredient labelling and the Hebrew name for the product.

"The original, quality recipe for Heinz Tomato Ketchup sold in Israel and the standard for ketchup around the world remains unchanged," he added.