Wellington  - A New Zealand lolly called an Eskimo and in the stereotypical shape of an Inuit person has angered a Canadian tourist who says it is an insult to her people, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons, 21, an Inuit from Canada's Nunavut Territory, told the Taranaki Daily News that the word Eskimo, used by confectionery manufacturer Cadbury/Pascall in its popular lolly mix, was unacceptable because it had negative racial connotations.

Eskimo means "eater of raw meat," she said, and the correct term for her people is Inuit.

Parsons said she would send packets of the lollies to both Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and her grandfather, an Inuit tribal elder in the Nunavut Territory, presumably to encourage a protest.

She said that New Zealanders would not like to see confectionery in the shape of indigenous Maoris, and if anything the lollies should be shaped like a seal, the Inuits' main source of food.

A spokesman for Cadbury/Pascall told the paper the product had been on the market for many years, and it was never the intention to offend anyone. (dpa)