Saputo to remove word ‘coon’ from cheese brand in Australia

Canadian dairy firm Saputo is reportedly planning to remove ‘Coon’ name from its cheese products in Australia with an intent to eliminate racism.

According to Bloomberg, the company felt that the word was offensive to Aboriginal Australians.

The word ‘coon’ – an abbreviation of word ‘raccoon’ – is said to be a racist term with its roots in American slavery and used against few black people, according to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University in Michigan, reported Bloomberg.

However, Saputo Dairy Australia noted that its cheese brand was named after founder Edward William Coon. The manufacturer is currently said to have been working towards finding a new name for the brand.

In a statement, the company said that the new name will ‘honour the brand affinity felt by our valued consumers while aligning with current attitudes and perspectives’.

Saputo said: “We believe we all share in the responsibility to eliminate racism in all its forms and we feel this is an important step we must take to uphold this commitment.”

With this move, the company will be joining other companies such as PepsiCo’s Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Aunt Jemima and Darlie that have rebranded their products containing offensive content.

The decision to remove racist branding by various companies comes after protests in the US and other parts of the globe against George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.

Last month, British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever announced that it will be removing words such as fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ from its products’ packs and communication in India.

The new initiative is said to be the company’s next step in the evolution of its skincare portfolio to a more inclusive vision of beauty.