Supermarket confronts 'racists' by removing all foreign groceries from shelves

A supermarket has taken all foreign groceries off its shelves to make a statement about how little would be left if racists got their way.

An Edeka supermarket in the Northern German harbour city of Hamburg made the unique move to confront racists with their views.

All foreign products were cleared from the shelves Saturday, with the supermarket temporarily only selling German products.

Most of the shelves were empty. Around the supermarket, small signs were placed with messages such as "this shelf is quite boring without variety."

A German supermarket has removed all foreign products from its shelves to make a point about racism. Photo: Supplied

The salad bar in the supermarket had a sign saying "our selection knows borders today", leaving customers unable to buy tomatoes from Spain or olives from Greece.

The cheese counter had a sign saying "so empty is a shelf without foreigners."

Customers were surprised, with one writing on social media: "The shelves look like they came straight from Cuba."

According to local media, images posted on social media were shared thousands of times by surprised netizens.

It is still unclear if the empty supermarket shelves were part of an art project or a viral advertisement campaign.

Shoppers were left confused after seeing the bare shelves. Photo: Supplied

All foreign products were temporarily cleared from the shelves Saturday. Photo: Supplied

An Edeka spokesman said: "Edeka stands for diversity, and we produce a wide range of food in our assortment, which is produced in the different regions of Germany. But it is together with products from other countries that we create the unique diversity that our customers value.

"We are delighted to have received a lot of positive feedback regarding Saturday's action."

An Edeka spokesperson said the company "stands for diversity." Photo: Supplied

Edeka is no stranger to viral advertising campaigns, although some previous commercials launched by the German supermarket giants sparked controversy.

Their "Eatkarus" campaign from last winter tells the story of a fantasy world in which everyone eats the same food, an unidentified grey mash, be it for breakfast, dinner or as a snack. Even the family pet eats it.

It is however the family's son's dream to fly away like a bird, hence the name "Eatkarus" - a play on words with Icarus, which refers to the ancient Greek myth in which a man flew his own wings made of feathers and wax, only to see them melt as he flew too close to the sun and tumbling into the sea below.

At the end of the clip from last winter, the young boy reaches his great goal because he turns his diet around after finding some real berries in nature by following a bird.

The supermarket chain provides more than just a healthy diet message. On a separate campaign page, they provide recipe videos, diet tips and a BMI (body mass index) calculator.

According to local media, images posted on social media were shared thousands of times. Photo: Supplied

The well-meant approach to combat growing obesity and unhealthy eating habits earned the campaign praise with many netizens, although others slammed the campaign for ridiculing fat people.

Less controversial was a tear-jerker Christmas commercial featuring a grandfather eating Christmas dinner all alone as none of his busy children could come over.

The man therefore faked his own death, after which his shocked children somehow did manage to find the time to visit. There, they found a dining room table full of food waiting for them, with their elderly father as alive as ever.

The cheese counter had a sign saying "so empty is a shelf without foreigners." Photo: Supplied