A funny thing happened while unpacking a box of freedom fries the other day. I was surprised to see that the Ore-Ida french fries I’ve been using were not from Oregon or 
Idaho. I can vaguely recall the advertising jingle when I was much younger, something like ‘if it’s Ore-Ida, it’s all right-a.’ The Ore-Ida brand became a national favorite. It’s not national any more. Today Ore-Ida potatoes are a product of Canada, distributed by a ‘Benedict Arnold’ company (to use John Kerry’s words), HJ Heinz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Similarly, as American Ore-Ida potatoes were, Heinz’s ketchup was too. Oh, but not any longer. Heinz ketchup is a product of Canada also. I wonder if outsourcing is no longer a democrat platform issue? Maybe it’s OK for John Kerry’s companies, just not yours?
Can’t wait to hear John Kerry say “I was against outsourcing when I was running for president, but now I’m not.”Â
More pictures like these in the gallery.
UPDATE note: Thanks to Tony @ HJ Heinz (see first comment to this post) for pointing out a factual error in the above post. That being that neither of the Kerrys have any controlling interest in the company, so the reference to “Maybe it’s OK for John Kerry’s companies, just not yours?” is incorrect. HJ Heinz is not his or her company. To say that I was surprised to find that those products are not from the USA was not a mis-statement of fact. Which begs the question, if Canadians can get fries and ketchup made in Canada, why can’t Americans buy fries and ketchup from the US?
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the input on Theresa and John. I did not know whether they had any control or involvement in the company’s operations. To know that they don’t has got to be good news for your stockholders.
My post was not to give Heinz a black eye. There is no bigger proponent of outsourcing than me. It was to make the point that if Kerry actually believes what he says that he would have to call HJ Heinz a Benedict Arnold company too! One that has made his wife independently wealthy. The irony of it all was just too juicy to ignore.
IMHO, companies who use outsourcing and/or go international are doing good work for both their stockholders and their customers. It’s a win-win as this conservative sees it. They are not Benedict Arnold companies, as Kerry sees it.
As for your products, they are great. In my business there is nothing better than those fries and that ketchup.
Ross,
As an employee of this venerable organization I have to set a few things straight. We have companies all over the globe and Ore-Ida is one that is made in both Canada and in the U.S.. We have plants in Idaho and in Oregon and they are responsible for producing a great many potato products. H J Heinz has also been a pioneer in the business of food safety and purity for over one hundred years. I do not know of another U.S. food manufacturer that has done more for the health and safety of the consumer than we have so please get your facts straight before trying to give someone a black eye.
As far as Mr. Kerry is concerned, he has no stake in the company whatsoever; unless he has some personal stock that he has purchased. His wife Theresa Heinz-Kerry was left some amount of monies when her previous husband died but no amount of control was left to her. She has no say in what the company stands for or the way in which it is run. Thank Heaven for that.