Fake Heinz ketchup plot foiled by exploding bottles

An attempt to pass off regular ketchup as premium Simply Heinz brand in the US was foiled after the illegally repackaged bottles exploded in a New Jersey warehouse.

Heinz said it believed those behind the scam were buying regular Heinz ketchup in bulk containers and using it to fill squeezable bottles, according to a report in the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

The knockoffs carried counterfeit labels claiming the contents were Simply Heinz, a premium product which is made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.

Thousands of bottles of the counterfeit product were discovered at the warehouse after the ingredients in the bottles fermented, causing a build-up of gases which caused them to explode. The spilled contents attracted flies, which in turn tipped off other tenants of the warehouse.

Heinz said that incidents of counterfeiting or repackaging of its products were rare, and that it would pursue criminal proceedings against anyone involved in this type of activity.