Walmart’s selection of festive Danish cookies has come under fire on TikTok. This follows a flurry of videos alleging that these confections are made in unhygienic conditions.
In a viral clip, TikToker Jessi La Pekosita (@jessi_lapekosita) pans the camera across a Walmart aisle stacked high with Danish cookie tins. Noting how the cookies are practically untouched, La Pekosita added in on-screen text: “They’re fully stocked. I can’t and won’t see these cookies the same.”
Additionally, the video has amassed 4.1 million views.
La Pekosita didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok comment.
What’s wrong with Danish cookies?
La Pekosita’s video is in response to viral footage that allegedly shows how these cookies are made.
Over on X, several users have gone viral after reposting TikToks that are all intercut with the same footage. The footage appears to show workers making the cookies with no gloves and in unsanitary surroundings. At one point, a man even flattens cookie dough with his feet. These TikToks are accompanied by a mock Indian accent singing songs like Sleigh Ride and Jingle Bell Rock.
In turn, it’s arguable that these videos appear to perpetuate racist, anti-Indian rhetoric by implying that the food was made in an unhygienic manner just because it is from India. The Mary Sue was unable to independently verify the origins of this video.
Nonetheless, TikTok users such as @isa93999 have hit back against this purported Indophobia. They showed what seems to be actual footage of these kinds of cookies in clean, hygienic Indian factories. “No, your Danish Christmas cookies are NOT made with feet,” on-screen text reads.
“Don’t spread racism,” they added in the video description. “Indian cookies are made in clean factories.”
User @isa93999 didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok comment.
@jessi_lapekosita Keywords: Made in India I can’t unsee it! ?#tiktok #christmascookies #madeinindia #fyp ♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs – Skittlegirl Sound
What did viewers think?
In the comments, TikTok users are taking different viewpoints. A minority of commenters argued that these concerns are the cookies’ origins are justified, referencing the viral footage of men making cookies with their feet. “People!” one implored. “Go look at cookies made in India and you’ll understand why people are reacting negatively!”
However, the majority of users stuck up for India. “You know India has factories,” a second pointed out. “Not everything is made in the streets lol.”
Additionally, a third echoed that “considering the mass amount of cookies made every year, I’d almost guarantee they are made in a factory, not by 5 people.”
Meanwhile, a fourth pointed out that these cookies are “probably better then what the United States allows to be put in your food.”
“What’s wrong with food from India?” a fifth asked. “I’ve been all over the world and would eat it before something made in the USA…. I mean nobody wants to eat food from the States.”
Walmart didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via contact form.
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