Heinz, makers of Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Beanz, has unveiled the first ever bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Marz Edition. What makes it special? It was created with tomatoes grown in Martian soil!
Two years ago Heinz researchers embarked on a mission to improve their knowledge of growing tomatoes in a sustainable way and ensure its world-famous Tomato Ketchup would be enjoyed for generations to come. They teamed up with a group of leading scientists at the Florida Institute of Technology’s Aldrin Space Institute to grow Heinz tomatoes of a high enough quality in Martian conditions to become bottles of the iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
Not only did they succeed in growing the tomatoes, but the Martian-grown tomatoes feature the all-important qualities, like levels of thickness, colour and sweetness, that make Heinz Tomato Ketchup taste like, well, Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
The Martian ketchup was unveiled around the world this week, when a limited-edition bottle embarked on a space flight beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, reaching 37,000 metres into the sky and -70C temperatures before returning to Earth.
The batch of out-of-this-world ketchup is now at Heinz HQ, where the experimental sauce has undergone rigorous quality testing to get the green light to become prototype bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup Marz Edition.
It’s not the first time Heinz Tomato Ketchup has made it into space – the iconic sauce has been enjoyed by Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for many years.
Irish Aeronautical Engineer and award-winning STEM advocate Dr. Norah Patten says: "What I love about this Heinz on Marz project is the potential implication to advance our understanding of food production not only on Mars but also here on Earth. Space offers us such a unique environment to explore and understand many of the fundamental processes that are essential for life and living here on Earth.”
And while Heinz Tomato Ketchup Marz Edition won’t be appearing on Irish supermarket shelves quite yet, it’s something to look forward to!
