I would like to find out the precise list of ingredients, in order, in
a bottle of Heinz ketchup, from 25 or more years ago.

Extra credit for an actual picture of said ingredients label.

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Request for Question Clarification by bikerman-ga on 27 Nov 2002 09:05 PST

I made several phone calls to Heinz, and the last time I called, a
woman gave me her email address and said that if I would email her
my question, she would forward it to their archivist.  That was
several days ago, and I still haven't heard anything back from the
archivist (the woman sent me an email saying that she had received
mine and forwarded it to the archivist).

Having given up on hearing anything from Heinz, I decided I would
see if there was some type of food museum that might could help.
I sent an email to the Food Museum ( http://www.foodmuseum.com ),
and they said that I should try the Smithsonian National Museum of
American History.  The Cultural division of the Smithsonian looks
promising.  Here is a quote from their webpage:

"Business and consumer culture collections encompass general store
merchandise, packaging, Hills Bros. Coffee items, advertisements,
Walter Landor's consumer packaging designs, menus, shopping carts,
handbills, signs, wooden shop figures, consumer paraphernalia, as
well as Goya Foods Inc. packaging and signs."
Division of Cultural History
http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/cadch.htm

I have contacted the person I believe is curator of that division,
and am waiting for a return phone call.  Unfortunately, I have a
sneaking suspicion that I won't hear back from him until after
this question expires, since tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

If the question expires before I can find your answer, I'd like to
offer my apologies for not being able to provide you with an
answer.  Also, if the Smithsonian can't help us, I won't know
where to go next.

Best wishes,
bikerman-ga

Hello,

This is an interesting question.  I was unable to find anything on the
web, but I will contact Heinz as soon as business hours arrive and see
what I can find out.  There are some images of old Heinz Ketchup
bottles on the web, but none which show the ingredients list.

Regards,
bikerman-ga

I contacted the man who is in charge of Heinz product history, and am
awaiting a response from him.  I will let you know when I learn
something.

Regards,
bikerman-ga

Thanks in advance for the info.
Just wondering: does Google Answers have any provision for posting or
emailing of files that aren't already available on the web ...?

The Heinz archivist is a part-time worker, and only comes in once or
twice a week.  I left him a message, and was told that he will call me
back, but that it might be a few days.  I just wanted to let you know
so you didn't think I'd forgotten about your question.

I wouldn't be surprised if he can find me a picture of the label, but
he will probably want to snail-mail me a copy instead of email it.  If
that's the case, I will have him mail it to me and then I'll scan it
and put it up on a website where you can download it.  That way, you
won't have to give out your email or snail mail address here.

AFAIK, Google Answers doesn't have any way to make such files
available.  Some of the other researchers have been kind enough to
setup web space for the researchers to post such materials on.

Thanks for your patience,
bikerman-ga

Thanks very much for your diligence.  Will look forward to it.

Hi, again.

I called Heinz again today because I still haven't heard back from the
archivist.  The woman I talked to gave me her email address and said
that if I sent her my question, she would try to get the information
for me.  So I've done that, and will let you know.

I am sorry that it is taking so long to get your answer; thanks for
your patience.
bikerman-ga

Thanks again for your efforts.  Looking forward to the results.  Have
upped the ante a bit; hope this is worthwhile ...

I'm sorry, I meant to post that Request for Clarification as a
Comment.  Got in too big a hurry to eat lunch and pressed the wrong
button!

bikerman-ga

rnd13...
The law requiring ingredients to be listed in order
of decreasing weight was not passed until 1990.
Prior to that, many labels did not contain the
ingredients at all, especially those of companies
which wanted to preserve the aura of a 'secret recipe'.
This makes it seem possible that the original catsup
ingredients might not have been listed on a bottle
from 25 years ago.

"Now It’s the Law"

"In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and
 Education Act was signed into law.
 This law requires that all processed
 foods carry a “Nutrition Facts” label
 and ingredient list. It also sets strict
 government definitions for certain
 terms used and health claims made
 on labels. These regulations have
 helped deter misleading advertising
 and have made food labels more useful
 sources of information."

 "Ingredient List"
 
"Ingredient information is required
 on all manufactured food products,
 unless these products conform to
 standard recipes. Ingredients are listed
 in order of decreasing weight,
 therefore, the first ingredient listed is
 the most prominent."
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:NMc4Ly_TTY0C:www.dining.ucla.edu/housing_site/dining/SNAC_pdf/ReadTheLabel.pdf+law+requiring+ingredients+listed+in+order&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
-- from the UCLA housing website.