The Scottish fish and chip shop that dreamed up the deep fried Mars bar has received a terse letter from the makers of the chocolate bars, saying the product is not in line with its healthy living promotion.
Lawyers representing Mars got in touch with Lorraine Watson, who runs the Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, reported the Scotsman.
They asked the chip shop to put a disclaimer on their menus saying that deep frying a Mars bar is “not authorised or endorsed by Mars Incorporated”.
Watson told the Huffington Post UK: “They’ve been in touch because they don’t like what’s happening. Mars are quite offended. But they can't stop me selling them, I’ve been selling them for 20 years.”
The letter was sent after Watson told reporters she was thinking about applying to get protected status of her fatty treat. This would bring the dessert in line with products such as Parma Ham or Champagne: wedded to their origin.
However Mars said they would not be able to co-operate as the mars bar, slicked with the chip shop's signature batter, was not in line with their healthy eating message.
“We wont be able to do it (get protected status) now,” she added. “But I don’t want to make Mars angry so I’ll put what they want on the menu.
The deep-fried Mars bar was born at Stonehaven in 1992 after Watson started frying the bars for local children. Now around 20% of chip shops in Scotland sell the battered bar. The sticky snacks contain around 420 calories.
A spokeswoman for Mars confirmed that the letter had been sent but said it was not a 'David and Goliath' fight.
A statement from the company said: “We are really flattered that customers of Carron Fish Bar like our product so much that it has now become a flagship product for the store. No application for a protected geographical indication has been filed to date.
"Should an application be filed, unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to support it as deep-frying one of our products would go against our commitment to promoting healthy, active lifestyles.”