Curmudgeonly & Skeptical

H.J. Heinz: No Connection to Senator and His Wife

Catherine Monahan makes two incorrect assumptions in her March 2 Letter to the Editor. First, contrary to her belief, there is no business connection or influence between the H.J. Heinz Co. and Sen. Kerry and Mrs. Heinz Kerry. Heinz is no longer a family-owned company but a publicly owned corporation with a diversified body of shareholders. In the mid-1990s, the Heinz Family Trusts and Endowments (which have no association with the Heinz Company Foundation) sold a substantial portion of Heinz shares, thus reducing their holdings to less than is required to be reported under the Securities laws.

Second, with 60% of its sales outside the U.S., Heinz's overseas factories provide food products for our consumers in overseas markets and are not directed toward the U.S. market. In fact, our large ketchup factory in Ohio and other tomato-processing facilities in California export around the world, in addition to serving American consumers. With manufacturing facilities close to our markets in all inhabited continents, we are proud to serve millions of consumers with "Good Food, Everyday."

Ted Smyth
Senior Vice President
Chief Administrative Officer
H.J. Heinz Co.
Pittsburgh

WSJ Updated March 11, 2004