Fresh&co accused of racism for miso lucky bowl

Fresh&co accused of racism for miso lucky bowl


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One of Fresh&Co’s limited-edition bowls has social media in a firestorm. The New York City-based health food chain is receiving backlash on their ‘Miso Lucky Bowl,’ which they created


earlier this year to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The limited-edition bowl made of zucchini noodles, pickled beets, bok choy, avocado, scallions, bean sprouts, and spicy miso vinaigrette


“sold so well” that Fresh & Co kept it on the menu, a spokesperson for the company says. On Friday, the bowl was still on the menu, and some Twitter users took offense with the meal’s


name. The tweet that began the backlash came from Twitter user Martin Hui. He saw an ad for the item and called on the company to “fix” their verbiage. “It’s 2018 and casual racism isn’t


cool,” he wrote. Following Hui’s tweet, other people used the social media platform to voice their own concerns. “It’s 2018,” one user wrote. “Could we at least all agree that puns on ‘me so


horny’ for ‘Asian things’ are racist and lazy, and that for so many reasons they just need to stop?” Others used it as a teachable moment, and pointed out that making jokes using slogans


like that have historically been associated with the stereotype that Asians can’t speak English and that Asian women are “sex objects.” Upon learning of the backlash on social media, the


healthy restaurant publicly apologized and tweeted their condolences at multiple users who had expressed their concerns and removed the dish from their menu, a spokesperson for Fresh&Co


tells PEOPLE. “We were not aware of the historical implications + are so thankful that someone flagged them,” the company tweeted. “We’re a tolerant and progressive company + apologize for


any offense this may have caused. We’re currently changing the name company-wide. Rest assured that this will not happen again.” WANT THE ULTIMATE DISH ON THE LATEST CELEBRITY FOOD NEWS,


PLUS EXCLUSIVE RECIPES, VIDEOS AND MORE? Click here to subscribe to the People Food newsletter. Lucky Rice, the interactive Asian culinary experience Fresh&Co partnered with to create


the bowl, also issued an apology, stating they “dropped the ball on oversight” because they “emphasized the innuendo” in their campaign. They also admitted they were unaware that the item


would stay on Fresh and Co’s menu, and said they “hope Fresh & Co is listening and appreciate the dialogue created.”