http://www.breakingnews.ie/discover/social-media-outcry-forces-haribo-to-withdraw-racist-sweets-659182.html Social media outcry forces Haribo to withdraw 'racist' sweets

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22/01/2015 - 13:54:02Back to Discover Home

Famous sweet manufacturer Haribo has been forced to remove a selection of their confectionery from shelves in Denmark over claims that they are ‘racist’.

Haribo’s Skipper Mix has been taken out of shops after a social media campaign claimed the black liquorice treats reminded customers of colonial times.

The Skipper Mix contains black liquorice faces which appear to depict African, Asian or Pacific people during that period.

Haribo, for their part, have said they believe the sweets do not have “negative connotations”.

A close-up of the contents of the Skipper Mix

Speaking to the AFP news agency Head of Haribo Sweden Ola Dagliden said: “We decided that we could keep the product while removing the parts that certain consumers found offensive.”

However, it is reported that a picture of the Skipper Mix bag was removed from the Swedish version of the Haribo website last week.

Denmark is a former colonial power and it seems that the sweets reminded Danes of a past they would rather leave behind.