Ketchup manufacturer Heinz has been forced to apologise after a digital barcode on one of its bottles directed a customer to a pornographic website. Daniel Korell, an IT worker living in Germany, used his smartphone to scan a quick response code, or QR code, on a bottle of ketchup to find out more information about a promotional campaign. However, rather than taking him to an official Heinz site, the code routed him to a German webpage featuring adult photographs of naked women. Mr Korell tried the code with several other smartphones and found it continued to direct him to the site.QR code on the back of a ketchup bottle took a German man to a porn siteHeinz said the code was for an expired promotional campaign on old bottleHeinz allowed the domain name to lapse and it was taken over by porn firmThe company apologised and is taking steps to stop it happening again
The pornographic site also offered _ a free subscription to its service.