German food makers rebrand 'gypsy' sauce after complaints
A number of German food manufacturers are to rename their tomato-and-red-pepper-based "gypsy sauce" following complaints about the use of an offensive term for Roma and Sinti people.
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Sauce makers Homann and Bautz'ner told dpa on Tuesday they would rename the sauces, following a similar announcement at the weekend by food company Knorr.
"We have been planning the name change for a long time and the timing only depends on production-related circumstances," a Bautz'ner spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for sauce maker Homann said the company has also been engaged for some time in a discussion about the sauce name, adding that the name would be changed "during the next relaunch of the packaging design."
Supermarket chain Edeka also said it was considering changing the name of its own brand and that of its Netto discount chain.
The announcements come days after Knorr said on Sunday it would rename its "gypsy sauce" as "Hungarian-style red pepper sauce."
"Since the term 'gypsy sauce' can be interpreted negatively, we have decided to give our Knorr Sauce a new name," Knorr's parent company Unilever told German tabloid Bild am Sonntag.
The Central Council of German Sinti and Roma welcomed the decision.
"It is good that Knorr is responding to the complaints of many people," chairman Romani Rose told the paper.
However, he himself is more concerned about the growing hostility to Roma and Sinti people in Germany and across Europe.
"Against this background, 'gypsy schnitzel' and 'gypsy sauce' are not of the utmost urgency for the Central Council," Rose said. (dpa)
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