NEW YORK (Reuters) - Securities regulators on Friday sued unknown traders over suspected insider trading in H.J. Heinz Co <HNZ.N> call options ahead of the announced buyout of the company.

The lawsuit said the options generated more than $1.7 million in unrealized profit before the ketchup maker on Thursday agreed to a $23 billion buyout by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> and private equity firm 3G Capital Partners.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also said it had won an emergency court order to freeze assets in a Zurich, Switzerland-based trading account used to reap the alleged trading profits.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

(Reporting by Bernard Vaughan; Editing by Dale Hudson)