Cadbury/Pascall says it will
continue to market its Eskimo marshmallow sweets, despite a
complaint from a Canadian tourist they are racist.
Tip Top also said today it did not intend to rename its Eskimo
Pie icecreams.
Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons, 21, an Inuit of the Nunavut Territory
in Canada, said she was shocked when she found the Eskimo
marshmallows for sale last week, saying there were an insult to her
people.
The word Eskimo was unacceptable in her country and carried with
it negative racial connotations, she told the Taranaki Daily News.
The correct term was Inuit, Ms Parsons said.
"I was taken aback. When I was a little girl white kids in the
community used to tease me about it in a bad way. It's just not the
correct term," she told the Taranaki Daily News.
She also believed the shape of the lolly was an unfair stereotype
of her people.
But Cadbury Australia and New Zealand communications manager
Daniel Ellis said Cadbury/Pascall did not intend to rename or remove
the product.
"Pascall Eskimos are an iconic New Zealand lolly and have been
enjoyed by millions of New Zealanders since they first hit shop
shelves way back in 1955," he said.
"They continue to be incredibly popular today. Last year, we
produced almost 19 million individual Eskimos, making it one of our
most sought after Pascall products.
"It has never been our intention to offend any member of the
public, and whilst we are disappointed to learn that this
traditional New Zealand product has caused any concern, this is only
the second time in the product's 54-year history that we have
received such a complaint.
"This shows that the overwhelming majority of consumers do not
find Eskimos to be offensive.
"We have no intention to rename, reshape or remove the product,
and trust that consumers will continue to enjoy Pascall Eskimos."
Ms Parsons intends sending packets of the confectionery to the
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and her grandfather, an Inuit
tribal elder in the Nunavut Territory.
Asked what the company would do if it received a complaint from
Mr Harper, Mr Ellis told NZPA that would be "assessed at the
time."
Tip Top said a change was unlikely in the short term for its
Eskimo Pies.
Eskimo Pies, a chocolate-coated ice-cream on a stick, have been
available in New Zealand since the 1940s and Tip Top said it was one
of their top 10 sellers.
It told 3 News it would track the feedback and if it became a big
issue it might consider a name change.
Eskimo has been used as a general term in French, Russian and
Ukranian for an ice cream with a wooden stick in it.
Eskimo Pie was a brand name for a chocolate-covered ice cream bar
sold in the United States since the 1920s, now marketed by Nestle.
NZP