A POPULAR confectionery is causing an uproar in Europe after a flood of complaints about its packaging.

Claims have been made that the fruit figures that appear on Haribo MAOAM sour candies are engaging in sex acts.

A father-of-two told The Daily Mail of his disgust after spotting the fruity cartoon characters.

Simon Simpkins was buying Haribo MAOAM sour candies for his children when he noticed the "pornographic" illustrations of limes, lemons and cherries romping with each other.

Mr Simpkins of West Yorkshire said: "The lemon and lime are locked in what appears to be a carnal encounter."

"The lime, whom I assume to be the gentleman in this coupling, has a particularly lurid expression on his face," he said.

He told said: "I demanded to see the shop manager and, during a heated exchange, my wife became quite distressed and had to sit down in the car park."

A spokesman for Haribo said the "fun" packaging of the sweets was introduced in Germany in 2002 and added: "This jovial MAOAM man is very popular with fans, both young and old."

Source: http://www.news.com.au/