Parents in New Zealand were served quite a treat when a visit to the candy store turned out to be a traumatic experience. Gummy bears, a treat popular with kids across the world, got to the wrong side of parents when gummies shaped in the form of penises were found inside the packs. The inappropriately shaped gummies caused furor and uproar from the larger conservative South Island public, branding the lollies as offensive.
Dutch Rusk, a New Zealand Company, made a huge recall of their Dragon Sweets gummy bears after these penis shaped gummies were found in the packs. Dutch Rusk managing director William Van de Geest stated that the company imported 72000 bags of mixed gummy lollies which were branded Dragon Sweets, from a Chinese manufacturer six weeks ago.
The gummies were then distributed to shops across south Island. Two weeks later, complaints began reeling in. The parents were furious.
Barry Aburn, a resident of Dunedin, reported that his daughters: Cadence (8) and Payton (5) bought a bag of Dragon Sweets at Moyles SuperValue and gave it to him for his birthday. He reached inside and pulled out a penis-shaped gummy bear. He was scarred. Mr. Auburn's partner said she randomly took out a gummy bear and was stunned to find a gummy bear of a male penis. "I don't find anything amusing about it at all. I find it disgusting,'' she said.
The distributor was forced to recall thousands of bags, losing thousands more in profits. Van de Geest stated he had imported lollies from around the world for 25 years but had never imported such inappropriate lollies. The manufacturers sent him an apology and even offered compensation.
The story is intriguingly two dimensional. In Asia, the penis-shaped gummies are sold in large scale. The shape is considered a sign of health and fertility.
''They wouldn't even blink an eyelid. We see it as offensive. We don't mind a hand or a foot being part of a lolly but we object to a breast or a penis,'' Van de Geest said.
