I doubt very much that anybody would have even dreamed of trying this in the USA -- though the USA does have "black-eyed peas", I suppose:
"A new range of "bigoted baked beans" released by Heinz have been roasted by ethnic groups. The controversial Mean Beanz line ties criminal tendencies to various races.
Flavours include Indian Snatcher, Mexican Jackal and Moroccan Rogue. The can labels depict the bent beans in criminal line-ups. The Indian Snatcher is profiled on the can as "Origin: India. Danger Level: Volatile if provoked. Criminal status: Serving at Long Bay." But local Indian groups are not laughing, saying the "racist" beans should be canned.
"Any sentiments like that are not healthy," said India Australia Association president Madhu Kalia. "God knows what the company was trying to achieve," she said. "You can't describe any race as being criminal whether Indian, Pakistani, American or British. "We have crime all over the world." Ms Kalia said she was just as offended by the Morrocan and Mexican slurs.
Heinz said they had not foreseen a racist link. "The campaign was meant to be all about edginess and daring people to try these exotic flavours," said spokeswoman Ros Chatfield. "We've got a pretty diverse staff and they all thought it was funny." Ms Chatfield said the company had not received any complaints about the new line.
Source
