Heinz plays down Kerry connection; Company stays neutral in race.(PAGE ONE)

Byline: Marguerite Higgins, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

H.J. Heinz Co. is seeing red - and not just in its ketchup bottles.

The Pittsburgh condiment maker has been putting considerable distance between its brand name and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

The company sent out 50 letters to news organizations in the past month to squash rumors circulating on the Internet and radio talk shows that it is involved with Mr. Kerry's campaign.

Mr. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is heiress to the $500 million family ketchup fortune. She was married to Republican Sen. H. John Heinz III, who was killed in a 1991 plane …