Nordic confectionary giant redesigns 'racist' logo

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The Finnish company Fazer is to change its “Kinapuffar” packaging following complaints and a Swedish row over the “unremarked racism” faced by people of Chinese or Asian origin.

Debate erupted after a columnist in a Swedish newspaper Helsinborgs Dagblad highlighted the logo on the chocolate covered rice-crisp sweets as an example of everyday prejudice.

Patrik Lundberg, a Swede of Asian origin, claimed that even in multicultural and liberal Sweden “to joke and laugh” at the Chinese remained funny despite the fact that stereotyping of other ethnic groups was unacceptable.

”All it takes is to stretch your eyes with your fingers or say L instead of R, then the audience explodes with laughter,” he wrote.

”I have an East Asian appearance. Not a week goes by without strangers saying 'tjing chong' or 'look, a Chinese' when I pass. Not a month goes by without someone asking if I like rice or arguing that it is in my nature to be able to eat with chopsticks.”

Mr Lundberg compared the Chinese puff sweets to a controversial Swedish ice cream branded “Nogger black” that was withdrawn after complaints by anti-racist campaigners in 2005.
Following a flood of complaints the confectionary maker promised to scrap the logo.
”We have taken on board the feedback that we have received, and are going to change the packaging,” said Sofia Liljefors-Edlund, a Fazer spokesman.
It is not the first time that Fazer has changed its sweet wrappers: three years ago a golliwog-style caricature of a black child, known as “Laku-Pekka”, was removed from liquorice bars.
In 2001 another Finnish confectioner, Brunberg changed its traditional marshmallow-filled chocolate sweet called Neekerinsuukko, “Negro Kiss”, to Suukko.