In a pickle: US pickle company pulls out of DC fair over Confederate flag

Extreme high temperatures plagued the Great American State Fair in Washington DC on 4 July. Photograph: Finn Gomez/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Extreme high temperatures plagued the Great American State Fair in Washington DC on 4 July. Photograph: Finn Gomez/Getty Images In a pickle: US pickle company pulls out of DC fair over Confederate flag Mt Olive Pickle Company says it was unaware image of flag was included in exhibit, and cites value of ‘human dignity’ A leading vendor of the US delicacy that is the pickle has withdrawn from the Great American State Fair in Washington DC after North Carolina’s booth displayed a video containing a Confederate flag. The Mt Olive Pickle Company, which is located in eastern North Carolina and bills itself as the “#1 bestselling brand of pickles, peppers and relishes in the US”, told local news station WNCT it had been unaware that an image of the flag would be included in a video as part of the state’s exhibit. “Mt Olive Pickle Company was invited to participate in the North Carolina exhibit for the Great American State Fair … as part of America’s 250th celebration,” the company said, alluding to the US’s semiquincentennial on Saturday. “We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state. “Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom.” The Confederacy evoked by the flag was the white supremacist, losing side of the US civil war. It defended the ownership of enslaved people before its civil war defeat. The vehicle manufacturer Spevco, which also participated in North Carolina’s booth, said the video in question was 45 minutes long, published on YouTube by a creator on the platform, and was about the state’s history. The manufacturer said the video showed the flag for a few seconds, and that moment was shown on news footage of the booth that circulated widely in the media and on social platforms, according to North Carolina’s The News & Observer . A Spevco spokesperson told the outlet that it “did not create, produce, edit, approve or select this historical video to be shown”. The video was subsequently taken down from the booth. The News & Observer notes that North Carolina did not fly the Confederate battle flag shown in the video while it was part of the Confederacy. The video showed the flag while the host discussed the history of the state’s flags, according to the outlet. The Confederate battle flag – marked by its field of red and a blue X shape with white stars – has been co-opted over the years by white supremacist hate groups. The Great American State Fair’s pickle issue was only the latest hiccup to afflict the 16-day event affiliated with the Trump administration and its Republican allies. Low attendance and soaring temperatures that have sent at least seven people to the hospital have left their mark on the festival. At least seven Democratic-governed states have