Morrisons fury as Christians slam new cheese - 'not what Easter's about'

By Grace Piercy, News Reporter

Morrisons has launched an Easter cheese (Image: Getty)

A new cheese flavour from Morrisons has caused an uproar with Christians saying it represents “the decay of Christendom”.

The Hot Cross Bun Cheese from the supermarket contains the traditional ingredients of cinnamon, blueberries and raisins. A similarly flavoured cheese is also being sold at other shops such as Lidl.

The cheese, which is being sold for £1.25 per 100g at the supermarket’s deli counters, has caused fury among Britain’s Christians.

Former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II Dr Gavin Ashenden told the Telegraph: "Why do they always have to pick on Christian symbols?

“It’s not just this, it’s also Cadbury’s gesture eggs. It’s as if anything Christian is being erased. What we are dealing with is the decay of Christendom and Christian culture.

The cheese has cinnamon, blueberries and raisins (Image: Reach)

"We have been told over the last 50 years that we live in a multicultural society, where everyone has a pitch, but that is wrong. It is everyone but Christians."

Cheese historian Ned Palmer added: "The thought of a hot cross bun cheese is making my toes curl...It’s a step too far.

"A hot cross bun is a lovely thing on its own, rather than some god-awful adulterous cheese that is probably over-sweetened. I wouldn’t mess with hot cross buns or cheese.

“To quote a famous line from Jurassic Park, 'They were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should'."

Campaign group Christian Concern said the new product "loses some of the symbolism" of the buns.

Head of public policy at Christian Concern Tim Dieppe said: "I’m surprised and amazed. You lose some of the symbolism. I don’t think I would buy it.

"The idea of a hot cross bun is you have got a cross and all the various spices, which represent the suffering on the cross. I don’t really understand how you can turn all that into cheese."

This is not the first time the hot cross bun has caused controversy recently, with Iceland being slammed for replacing the cross with a tick

The decoration on top of a hot cross bun is typically made from flour paste, which is said to represent the cross on which Christ died.

Some culinary historians say the spices represent those that were used to embalm Christ after his death.

Morrisons has been contacted for comment.