“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is…putting the right amount of it into a condiment to prevent a re-brand” (or so the old joke might have gone).

The Israeli health ministry has ruled that Heniz Ketchup must now be called “tomato seasoning" as it doesn't contain enough "tomato solids" to qualify as ketchup.

The ruling came as a result of lobbying by rival manufacturer Osem.

In the letter sent to retailers in January, Osem claimed to have tested Heinz ketchup and found that it contained only 21 per cent tomato concentrate as opposed to the minimum 41 per cent required by Israeli law for a product to constitute “ketchup”.

A Heinz Europe spokesman said: “the Israeli standard for ketchup has yet to be brought in line with US and European accepted international standards.

"The word ketchup is indicated in English on the front of the bottle… the back label of our ketchup sold in Israel reflects current local requirements for ingredient labelling and the Hebrew name for the product."