Topping Off the Heinz:
The well-designed Heinz ketchup bottle makes it optimal for dispensing the stuff. That's one of the reasons you see the bottles everywhere. Another is the mystique about Heinz ketchup, a good product, and obviously the Standard of Excellence. However, you have certainly noticed by now, if you've been paying attention at all, that often, in a restaurant setting, the bottles often contain Brand X. Not that this in itself is totally bad, except for the obvious misrepresentation. Good practice for reusing the bottle would be to allow it to become empty and then wash it properly. In my book that includes removing the label, for a couple of reasons:
- "Used" labels look funky, and
- unless it's just combining two Heinz bottles into one, refilling makes them falsely labelled because it's no longer Heinz ketchup inside. Heinz does not supply their ketchup in bulk for this purpose. (I'm assuming this.)
I shouldn't have to explain this stuff. But since apparently somebody has to, onward thru the fog!! OK. In a restaurant setting it is common practice (and I don't object) to top off the salt and pepper. Ketchup is basically pickled tomato sauce, generally a pretty stable substance, so deterioration is seldom a problem, but who knows what's in there? When the bottle is overfilled (common in topping off), it comes out v_e_r_y__s_l_o_w_l_y at first, and the restaurant patron might stick in a knife to loosen it up, or a spoon handle, etc. Read "contamination" here. Whatever they stuck in there could stay until the end of time, or at least until the fat lady sings. Rotate your stock! Let the bottles get empty and then either recycle them or wash & refill them.
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