All engineering is a tradeoff, and I would be interested to see how those factors were considered when doing the redesign.
Isn't the whole reason Heinz ketchup is self stable is because it's too high in acidity for mold to even grow
-- https://www.heinz.com/products/00013000006408-tomato-ketchup
- tomatoes (148g for 100g of ketchup)
- distilled vinegar
- sugar
- salt
- spice and herb extract
- spices
Both bacteria and fungi prefer more acidic than alkaline environments, with a "happy range" for each. Tomatoes are only weakly acidic, at 4.3 to 4.9. But molds commonly grow at pH 3.5 to 8. Aspergillus niger and Penicillium funiculosum can grow at pH 2 and below.
Extremely low pH is certainly useful at inhibiting some forms of life, but the world contains many different forms of life, and some are a lot more adaptive than others. Research shows that the best way to preserve food is a combination of chemical preservatives and low pH. Which is why the commercial food industry uses preservatives...