Chef Boyardee Cancels Rollout of Salazar-Endorsed Testosteroni®
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Background image by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
Chef Boyardee, the iconic purveyor of canned pasta, announced today it’s cancelling the planned rollout of a new product called Testosteroni and severing ties with Alberto Salazar, who helped to develop the dish and was set to help promote it.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Association early this week hit Salazar, a former elite marathoner and longtime coach of the Nike Oregon Project, with a four-year ban for doping violations. Chef Boyardee executives cited the ban in their decision to scrap the launch.
“We were shocked and saddened to learn of Mr. Salazar’s ban,” said Janet Boyardee, granddaughter of the company’s namesake chef and current president and CEO. “After careful consideration, we have decided that, in light of this news, Chef Boyardee will cancel all plans to sell Testosteroni.”
“We wish Mr. Salazar the very best during what must be a very trying time for him,” she concluded.
Testosteroni, described in a news release as “hearty T-shaped pasta in a rich tomato sauce, with bits of savory ground beef and just a hint of real testosterone,” was to go on sale early next month with a nationwide ad and publicity campaign featuring Salazar.
The amount of testosterone in the product, the news release said, was “enough to give you a boost—but not enough to raise red flags.”
It remains uncertain what the company plans to do with the estimated 12,000 cases of Testosteroni already produced, though a mysterious man named Umberto Santiago is said to have expressed interest in purchasing many of them.
