NEW YORK, Posted 10:45 a.m. December 24, 1998 -- Don't be surprised next month when you see the latest health food ad -- for ketchup.

Citrus growers long ago convinced consumers that orange juice could help fight colds.

Quaker Oats received federal permission to call its product healthy for the heart. Kellogg says its new cereals and muffins will help lower cholesterol levels.

And now, Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz will join the growing number of food companies touting the health benefits of their products. It's launching an ad campaign to show that its ketchup contains lycopene, an antioxidant which has been linked to reducing certain cancers.

Heinz says a growing number of research studies conclude that consuming processed tomato products -- like ketchup and tomato juice -- may help reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease.

More information:

• Read the official press release from Heinz.
• Lycopene.org has information and scientific abstracts about this antioxidant.
• Planet Ketchup has recipes, history and, yes, even a ketchup gallery.
• Visit the world's largest ketchup bottle online.
• Read the amazingly logical Ketchup Theory, by Shannon Terry.
• Someone else with too much time on his hands tries to argue that Ketchup Is Philosophically Unsound.