The plot has thickened within the Justin Trudeau-Heinz ketchup controversy, as shoppers with bottles that say “Product of USA” query how Canadian the favored condiment actually is.
Kraft Heinz took aim at the prime minister final week, saying comments he made in relation to a looming Canada-U.S. commerce conflict appeared that Heinz ketchup was not made in Canada.
“HEINZ Ketchup is made in Canada, by Canadians, utilizing Canadian tomatoes,” Kraft Heinz mentioned in a press release.
The corporate then ran a full-page advert within the Monday version of the Globe and Mail, touting its Canadian id.
At the least two dozen readers have contacted CBC since Trudeau’s remarks, nonetheless, to say their Heinz ketchup bottles are labelled “Product of USA.” Many despatched images to again up their claims.
Shoppers reported American bottles in a number of provinces, in cities and cities spanning the nation from Pender Island, B.C., to St. John’s. So what’s actually taking place? Kraft Heinz supplied us with a solution.
American bottles shipped north when demand spikes: Kraft Heinz
In an electronic mail to CBC Information, a Kraft Heinz spokesperson mentioned ketchup produced within the U.S. is shipped to Canada solely when there are “unanticipated will increase in client demand” that can not be met by the Canadian facility in Mont Royal, Que. The corporate additionally produces some specialty ketchups that can not be made in Canada, so these bottles even have U.S. labelling.
In 2024, Kraft Heinz says the American bottles accounted for roughly 10 per cent of Heinz ketchup in Canada.
Usually, the corporate produces and bottles its Canadian ketchup in Mont Royal, utilizing tomatoes from Leamington, Ont. These bottles are labelled “Ready in Canada,” as per Canadian Meals Inspection Company pointers.
The vinegar, salt and spices are additionally sourced regionally, however the sugar is imported, the corporate says.
When an Orillia, Ont. building employee named Brian Fernandez noticed a bottle of French’s ketchup on the grocery retailer, he made a Fb publish about his assist for the made-in-Canada ketchup and went on together with his day. He had no concept what he was about to kickstart with one easy publish.
Watch The Ketchup Conflict on CBC Gem.
Firm returned to Canadian tomatoes in 2022
In 2014, Kraft Heinz sold off its 100-year previous tomato processing plant in Leamington, leaving native farmers and staff within the lurch and setting off a rivalry with French’s, the corporate that took over the manufacturing unit and gained over many patriotic Canadians within the course of.
After fierce consumer backlash, Kraft Heinz returned to producing ketchup in Canada in 2020. The corporate went again to Canadian tomatoes, “with the primary full crop occurring in 2022,” in response to the spokesperson.
Kraft Heinz says it makes use of greater than 220 million kilos of tomatoes every year to make merchandise like ketchup, tomato sauce and tomato juice, and it just lately renewed its agreement with Highbury Canco to proceed by way of 2027.
Politicians throughout the nation have been encouraging shoppers to purchase Canadian, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened heavy tariffs on Canadian items beginning Feb. 1.
Final week, Trudeau urged shoppers to hunt out Canadian-made merchandise to keep away from U.S. imports. “The instance from final time was Heinz’s ketchup being changed by French’s ketchup as a result of French’s was nonetheless utilizing Canadian tomatoes in its ketchup,” he mentioned.
Whereas Trudeau’s assertion was not fully improper — it’s true that Kraft Heinz was not making ketchup in Canada from 2015 to 2020, and he was talking concerning the previous — the corporate mentioned it was deceptive, because it has moved its manufacturing again to Canada.
Kraft Heinz and French’s are each based mostly within the U.S. So, whereas each corporations make use of Canadian staff and use Canadian substances, income nonetheless movement south of the border.
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