Campbell’s defends food after alleged racist, profanity-laced tirade by company executive

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An executive with Camden-based Campbell Soup Company is on leave, pending an investigation into whether he was caught making an expletive-filled rant about the company’s products and some of his coworkers.

Robert Garza, who made the recording, has sued the company for wrongful termination. He alleges that he was fired after raising concerns about comments made by Robert Bally, the company’s vice president of information technology.

According to Detroit television station WDIV, which first reported on the recording, Garza filed his suit in Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan last Thursday. He makes allegations of racist remarks, admissions of drug use at work and retaliation when he tried to report it. Campbell is named in the suit along with Bally and J.D. Aupperle, a supervisor.

On the recording, which lasted more than an hour, Bally is alleged to trash Campbell’s products, alleging that bioengineered meat is used.

The recording also includes racist comments about Indian co-workers.

In a statement, Campbell denounced the comments and defended its products:

“If the comments heard on the audio recording were in fact made by Mr. Bally, they are unacceptable. Such language does not reflect our values and the culture of our company. We do not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances.”

The company emphasized that “the alleged comments heard on the audio were made by a person in IT, who has nothing to do with how we make our food.”