November 18, 2007
Even erotic food has to follow the rules
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's largest erotic chain store was forced to change the labeling on products such as penis pasta, candy cuffs and chocolate body painting, to comply with Norwegian food regulations.
The Norwegian food safety authority, whose goal it is to make sure consumers have healthy and safe food, conducted a surprise inspection at one of the chain's stores and found that several products violated food labeling regulations, top-selling tabloid VG reported on Tuesday.
"We were a bit surprised to have the food safety authority on inspection. Food is not really our core product," Kjersti Antonsen, a sexual adviser in the store, told VG.
Products containing food must be marked with a Norwegian label, listing all ingredients.
"We have panties, bras, handcuffs and suspender belts made out of candy," Antonsen said, adding that the store will comply with the regulations and label all its food products.
The food safety authority also said the store also breached rules of importing erotic candy, which should be reported to authorities at least 24 hours before arrival.
Posted by ronnie at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2006
Red all over as Spaniards revel in tomato frenzy
BUNOL, Spain (AFP) - Some 40,000 Spaniards and visitors gathered in this eastern town to drench each other in 100,000 kilogrammes (220,000 pounds) of tomatoes in the annual Tomatina festival.
Madcap participants, including thousands of mainly British, French and German tourists, turned themselves into a 'human gazpacho' in a riotous display of self-indulgence at one of the world's messiest festivals.
Most donned waterproof capes to stave off the onslaught of juice and pulp in a manic free-for-all believed to have begun life as an argument between two carnival participants in 1945.
In keeping with local tradition the tomato throwers opened the fun and games on the stroke of midday, when five lorries piled high with the fruit moved into the central plaza of the town just outside Valencia, an AFP photographer said at the scene.
That was the signal for everyone to hurl tomatoes -- which had been squashed up a little in advance to make them all the mushier -- at all and sundry for an hour, turning the streets into a red pulp.
As always, revellers clad in the oldest clothes they could find then made use of showers placed at their disposal for the occasion or else jumped into a nearby river to clean themselves up while the fire brigade moved in to hose down the streets and sweep up the debris.
So popular is the event, which reputedly sprang from the ire of a would-be local serenader whose lute-playing found scant favour with residents, that Spanish authorities have recognised it as a "festival of international tourist interest".
Posted by ronnie at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)