By Kirsten Grieshaber | United Press
BERLIN – One of Germany’s most famous food companies said it would rename a popular spicy dish because of the racist connotations of its name.
Food company Knorr will change the name of its ‘Gypsy Sauce’, as ‘Gypsy Sauce’ to ‘Paprika Sauce Hungarian Style’, the German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday.
“Since ‘gypsy sauce’ can be interpreted in a negative way, we decided to give our Knorr sauce a new name,” said Unilever, the international consumer group that owns Knorr. Unilever could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
The popular spicy sauce, a staple in many German households, will be on display with the new name in supermarkets across the country within a few weeks, Bild am Sonntag reported.
Civil rights groups have been calling for the market to be renamed for years, but in 2013 the company rejected the request, the German news agency dpa reported.
The renaming of the brand follows recent international debates on racism, particularly in the United States, where large national companies have also renamed traditional brands in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.
‘Gypsy’ is a derogatory German term for the Roma and Sinti minority groups who have lived in many European countries for centuries. Roma and Sinti are still discriminated against in Europe. They often live below the poverty line and on the margins of society without equal access to education, jobs, or the opportunity for upward mobility.
The terms “Gypsy Sauce” have been used in Germany for over 100 years to describe a hot sauce based on tomatoes with finely chopped pieces of paprika, onions, vinegar and herbs such as paprika. It is mostly served with meat.
A popular dish with the sauce that is often served in traditional German restaurants is called “Gypsy schnitzel,” or “gypsy schnitzel.” That name is still used today on many menus in the country – despite much criticism.
Roma and Sinti organizations in Germany have long indicated that the sauce is not even part of their traditional cuisine and they have also been demanding for years that the name be abolished.
The head of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma welcomed Knorr’s decision to stop using the term.
“It’s good that Knorr is responding to the complaints of apparently a lot of people,” Romani told Rose Bild am Sonntag. However, he added that more than the discriminatory nature of the sauce’s name, he was concerned about the growing racism against minorities in Germany.
He noticed how some football fans in Germany sang the words “Gypsy” or “Jude” – Jew to insult players or fans of opposing teams during matches.
In June, the official anti-discrimination watchdog in Germany said it had received significantly more complaints about racism in 2019 than the year before. The Federal Agency for Discrimination said it received 1,176 complaints about racism last year, an increase of 10% compared to 2018.
The number of complaints about racism has more than doubled since 2015, the agency said.
There have also been a growing number of racist attacks in Germany in recent times, including the killing of nine immigrants in Hanau in February and the attack on a synagogue in Halle last year by extreme extremists.
