Editing Deep-fried Mars bar (section)

==Symbol of an unhealthy diet==
Since the ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]'' described it as "Scotland's craziest takeaway" in August 1995,<ref name=BBC19463119/><ref name=LancetPIIS0140/> the deep-fried Mars bar has become a symbol for ill health, [[obesity]] and high-fat diets.<ref name=BBC19463119/> The original article was quickly followed up by other UK publications, with the food portrayed to speak eloquently about Scotland's and the wider UK's poor diet, and resultant levels of obesity.<ref name=BBC19463119/><ref name=LancetPIIS0140/>

In 2012, the Haven sought an application for the protected geographical indication under the [[Geographical indications and traditional specialties in the European Union|EU's Protected Food Name Scheme]]. However, Mars wrote to the fish bar asking it to make plain that deep-frying of the bars was "not authorised or endorsed" by Mars, and an agreed disclaimer statement was put up in both the shop and in its menu.<ref name=BBC19463119/><ref name=BBC19487149>{{cite web|title=Deep-fried Mars bars disowned by chocolate firm|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19487149|work=BBC News|date=5 September 2012|access-date=6 September 2012}}</ref>

In a 2012 interview, [[Glasgow]] restaurateur John Quigley felt that Scotland had been trying to "shake off" its unhealthy image for 20 years, since the media coverage of the deep-fried Mars bar.<ref name=BBC19463119>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19463119|title=Deep-fried Mars bars: A symbol of a nation's diet?|author=Steven Brocklehurst|publisher=[[BBC Scotland]]|date=6 September 2012|access-date=28 May 2014}}</ref>

In the 2002 [[video game]] ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]'', the [[cheat code]] {{mono|DEEPFRIEDMARSBAR}} makes the [[player character]] obese; the game's developer [[Rockstar North]] is based in [[Edinburgh]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}