A FOOD vendor has apologised after backlash for naming a hotdog after Anne Frank.

Viva Veggie Van, owned by Maria Finn, has been criticised for naming one of its hotdogs The Anne Frankfurter.

Anne Frank spent two years hiding from the Nazis in an attic in Amsterdam and kept a diary until she was arrested by the Gestapo on August 4, 1944.

Along with her sister Margot, Anne was then sent to  Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died several months later, aged just 15.

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl forced into hiding for two years before being deported to Auschwitz and then Bergen-Belsen where she died.

“To use the name of a Holocaust victim as a marketing ploy will never be appropriate.”

Viva Veggie Van was set to appear at an event by Birmingham Brewing Company this weekend.

However, the brewery has now cancelled the trader’s appearance after seeing the name of the £7 hotdog.

A spokesperson for the company said: “A menu was shared last night by a third party vendor who was booked to trade at our brewery tap room this weekend.

“We did not have sight of the menu before it was published and agree that the name of one of the dishes is totally inappropriate.

“The trader will not be trading with us.”

Ms Finn, the Broadway-based owner of Viva Veggie Van, has been contacted for a comment but has not yet responded.

However, speaking to The Jewish Chronicle, she apologised for the upset caused.

"I can’t believe what’s happened, It was just playing with words, something to stand out, this business is me and my daughter,” said Ms Finn.

"We never meant to upset anyone, I’m not a controversial person."

In an attempt to back up the naming of the dish, she added: "Anne Frank was from Germany, from Frankfurt, and she didn’t eat meat."

Ms Finn also voiced her disappointment at Birmingham Brewing Company for cancelling her appearance, stating she had already ordered ingredients.

"This was going to be our first event, I got made redundant during covid and started the business with my daughter,” she said.

"We just wanted to do a small event before Christmas, we’ve ordered all our food now and there’s no other festivals this weekend for us to sell at. I'm very disappointed."