A food company has been forced to issue a public apology after stealing a joke from Mitch Hedberg for their packaging.

New Zealand firm Aunt Betty's used the line: 'Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat 2,000 of something' on their Creamy Rice Snack With Coconut Milk – without crediting the late American comedian.

In fact, alongside the quote, they claim of their corporate figurehead: 'Her enthusiasm and wit were legendary.'

The theft was spotted by New Zealand comic Brad Zimmer, who started spreading the word on Twitter, with the message retweeted by such heavy-hitters as Marc Maron and Doug Stanhope, who have more than a million followers between them.'

Now Aunt Betty's have promised to remove the line from the packaging 'going forward', and apologised for causing offence.

On their Facebook account, they posted: 'It has come to light that we made a big mistake on some recent packaging & unknowingly used a quote from a well-known & loved comedian.

'This lovely joke, we now know, was from the late Mitch Hedberg and we thank him for this. We intend to remove this from the packaging going forward and we apologise for any offence caused #JokesArentFree.'

Founded in 1996, the Aunt Betty's brand is owned by Hansells Food Group, which has an annual turnover of more than £80million.

Hedberg – who died in March 2005, aged 37 – performed the rice gag at Montreal's televised Just For Laughs gala in 2002, and googling the joke immediately reveals its providence.

However, one twitter wag, Reid Parker, suggested an alternative Hedberg line Aunt Betty's might want to use on their future packaging:

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Published: 1 Aug 2016