A ketchup packet that won't fit in your pocket

COLLINSVILLE, Illinois (AP) -- First came the world's largest ketchup bottle.

Now this southern Illinois community is after the record for the world's largest ketchup packet.

Collinsville has partnered with the H.J. Heinz Co. to fill an 8-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide plastic pouch with 1,500 pounds of the tomato goop for a school fundraiser.

"That's a lot of ketchup," said Tracey Parsons, a Heinz spokeswoman.

The company donated 4,000 glass bottles of the condiment for people to buy for $1 and pour into the packet. Proceeds will go to the Collinsville Christian Academy, which was damaged by a fire this week.

Hundreds in the city, home to a 170-foot-tall water tower touted as the "World's Largest Catsup Bottle," showed up Saturday to participate in the ketchup filling and other fundraising activities. The feat is being submitted to Guinness World Records.

The giant packet will be sealed and kept in Collinsville, once home to a ketchup factory, for a few days before being taken to the Pittsburgh-based company's headquarters. E-mail to a friend

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