World Today

Heinz Planning to Sell Green Ketchup

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM MORET, CNN ANCHOR: Health officials have been telling us for years to eat plenty of greens. Now, Heinz is doing its part to get that color on our plates.

Jeanne Moos gives us a taste of a brand-new product, green ketchup.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can choose white wine or red wine, dark meat or white meat, white rice or brown rice. But red ketchup or green ketchup?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Green!

MOOS: If your fries are looking pale, if your burger is a dreary brown, soon you'll be able to liven it up with "Blastin' Green" ketchup from Heinz.

(on camera): Who wants to try and eat it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tastes real good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yummy.

MOOS (voice-over): Even the folks who make it realize the stuff looks weird.

(on camera): But from an adult point of view, it has a certain yuck factor. Do you admit that?

BRENDAN FOLEY, GENERAL MANAGER, H.J. HEINZ COMPANY: I admit that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yuck.

MOOS (voice-over): Imagine facing green ketchup on early morning TV. But it isn't meant for grown-ups; it's meant for kids, the group that consumes over half of all ketchup.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it look like in my mouth?

MOOS (on camera): It looks pretty ugly in your mouth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks green?

MOOS: Looks green.

(voice-over): We conducted a nonscientific blind taste test, squirting half a burger with red, the other half, green.

(on camera): Big bite, big bite. What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red.

MOOS: Open your mouth. It's green.

(voice-over): No wonder Sam thought the green half tasted normal.

FOLEY: It's made out of regular red tomatoes.

MOOS (on camera): Red tomatoes?

FOLEY: Red tomatoes, not green tomatoes.

MOOS (voice-over): Heinz just takes its regular tomato ketchup and adds yellow and blue food dyes to come up with green.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tastes like ketchup

MOOS: A few kids resisted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Close your eyes, open your mouth.

MOOS (on camera): You want to hold out your finger?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No thanks. I told you I don't like ketchup!

MOOS: What color would you like to see them make ketchup?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blue.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice-over): Don't laugh. If "Blastin' Green" is a success, Heinz will consider other colors. They've also redesigned the bottle. The ketchup comes out in a relatively fine line so kids can paint.

Next thing you know they'll be licking their masterpieces.

(on camera): Oh, don't get your tongue on your top. Now you're going to have to wash your top.

(voice-over): Green ketchup won't be on store shelves until October, and what with the media frenzy, it was tough to catch up with a bottle of the green ketchup. At least it matches that other beloved delicacy...

(on camera): I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am.

(LAUGHTER)

Pretty funny, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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