Louisiana, Are You Using Counterfeit Ketchup?
Have you ever been to a Saints game in New Orleans and seen all the fans parading around in their black and gold jerseys? Have you ever wondered how many of those are actually "real"? By real, I mean officially licensed products of the NFL. There is a huge difference in price between real NFL merchandise and the faux stuff.
The NFL and sports teams aren't the only entities that face issues from counterfeiters I am sure more than a few ladies are carrying bags that appear to carry the names of famous designers but were really created in a less exotic environment.
Let's face it, when you think of folks creating "fakes" your mind usually goes to high-dollar items or the chests of Hollywood starlets, not something as important and necessary as ketchup.
Is it Ketchup or Catsup?
Actually, both terms are acceptable when describing a spiced sauce made with tomatoes that is used as a condiment. The folks at Heinz, the godfathers of American ketchup, originally started their brand using Catsup but changed to the more recognizable ketchup in order to differentiate their brand from other brands.
The familiar taste of Heinz brand Ketchup is so recognizable that almost 97% of Americans can pick out its flavor in a blind taste test. As you might imagine, Heinz rules the ketchup world. And, when you dominate a "category" such as Heinz, there are bound to be imitators.
Heinz has recognized this and is now using a covert strategy to catch restaurants that use Heinz bottles but replace the "good stuff" with an inferior brand of ketchup. Believe it or not, that happens a lot with liquor served in bars where unscrupulous bartenders put the cheap whisky in the Jack Daniels bottles and pass the savings on to themselves. By the way that practice is forbidden by law.
How Can You Tell if Your Ketchup is Counterfeit?
The folks at Heinz have come up with an ingenious way to illustrate whether the product in the bottle is really Heinz or if someone pulled a Del Monte switcheroo. All you have to do is look at the label.
The folks at Heinz added a colored border around the label. That border matches exactly the color of the ketchup that is supposed to be inside the bottle. If you take a quick glance, you won't even notice the border because it blends in with the product so well.
However, if the ketchup isn't Heinz the border will stick out like an Atlanta Falcons fan on Bourbon Street. And when it does, just like the Falcons, you know the product is not going to perform well enough to make the playoffs or make your french fries taste the way you were hoping they were going to taste.
What Makes Ketchup Fancy or Not Fancy?
Fancy is an actual term used to define the quality of the ketchup. Just think of how they grade beef, Prime, Select, and Choice, are all terms used to describe the quality of the meat. For Ketchup to be fancy it must contain at least 33% tomato solids, be free from defects, and have a good consistency, flavor, and finish.
Just don't spill any of it on your fake Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, or Hefty bag that you bought off the streets, it would be a shame to ruin your sham with a ketchup stain.
Milk Recall: Lactaid milk being recalled in multiple U.S. states
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: FDA.gov
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