The Cream of Wheat chef is definitely on his way out, joining other Black advertising icons that have been deemed racially insensitive.
B&G Foods, which had announced in June that it was reviewing the packaging for Cream of Wheat, said Sept. 24 that it is dropping the image of the smiling Black chef in a white toque as a symbol of the hot breakfast cereal.
“For years, the image of an African-American chef appeared on our Cream of Wheat packaging,” B&G Foods said in a statement. “While research indicates the image may be based upon an actual Chicago chef named Frank White, it reminds some consumers of earlier depictions they find offensive,”
The move comes the same week that Mars Food announced it is changing the name of Uncle Ben’s rice products to Ben’s Original and discontinuing the image of a bowtied Black man. PepsiCo has committed to replacing its Aunt Jemima branding.
