Heinz apologized to a German man after a QR code on one of its ketchup bottles took him to an X-rated website.
"Heinz in Germany has apologized for the way in which an out-of-date QR code and website link to design a ketchup label in 2014 has been reassigned to an adult content website," said Michael Mullen, Heinz's senior vice president of corporate and government affairs,
in an email to CNNMoney this week.
"Clearly this was never our intention and we are taking steps to avoid this from re-occurring," he added.
In a nod to the bottle design contest, the condiments manufacturer reportedly also offered the German customer, Daniel Korell, a free custom-designed ketchup bottle for his troubles. His design will be considered for implementation in future campaigns and redesigns.
Korell originally brought the issue to light in late May, demonstrating in a Facebook post how the ketchup bottle's QR code linked to the porn site FunDorado, which offers adult webcam feeds.
A spokesperson for FunDorado commented on Korell's Facebook post on May 29, making a crude joke about Heinz's "EZ Squirt" bottles and offering him a year of free access to its smut.