A candy being marketed in Quebec is leaving some people with a sour taste in their mouths.

The label on Sloche strawberry-flavoured gummie spiders sold at Couche-Tard convenience stores in Quebec has upset members of the province's black community.

The package features a cartoon of a black man with a gold tooth, earrings and a scowl. On his head is a giant spider whose legs resemble dreadlocks. Consumers, such as Laurraine LeBlanc, argue that the caricature is insulting and reinforces derogatory stereotypes.

"If we're going to have a bunch of different gummie bears represented by animals
and/or insects, the use of the black face was not necessary," LeBlanc told Canada AM.

"He has a very aggressive look. He almost looks like his eyes are not the right colour. The spider, who's kind of dangling on top of his head, looks more like dreadlocks and that's also an insult to people who wear dreadlocks and Rastafarians everywhere."

The stores have agreed to stop selling the candy once their stock runs out, but they are refusing to recall the candies. LeBlanc says that's not good enough.

"I think they just want to make a buck and make money from it. We cannot let corporations make money using the images of black people in such a way," she says.

"Companies have a corporate responsibility as to what they are selling so we have to hold them responsible because not only they're targeting these products to children, but children don't have the ability to form their own opinions. So a picture like that only reinforces the prejudices that they already have of black people."

The Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations in Montreal wrote to Couche-Tard in May asking for a recall. One month later, it got a letter defending the sale of the product.

In the reply, Jean-Luc Meunier, vice-president of operations for Eastern Canada, wrote that Couche-Tard is sorry the group took offence at the "somewhat irreverent humour."

"Sloche targets a teen clientele," he wrote, referring to Couche-Tard's line of products aimed at teens.

"Since teens are often unaffected by 'traditional' advertising', we have given Sloche products a personality based on an approach that is off-the-wall and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and therefore more likely to grab their attention."

LeBlanc says she wants other consumers who find the packaging offensive to take action.

"We would like for people to go to the human rights commission to file a complaint. And we would like for Couche-Tard to apologize for such a gross depiction of black people, definitely. "