Johannesburg - The family that owns St George's Fine Foods said on Wednesday it had dismissed family member Adam Catzavelos from the business with immediate effect after a racist video taken while he was at a beach in Greece went viral on social media.
The video shows Catzavelos giving a weather update from the beach.
"Let me give you a weather forecast here; blue skies, beautiful day, amazing sea and not one k****r in sight," he said, using a derogatory term for black people used during apartheid rule in South Africa.
"F****ng heaven on earth," Catzavelos added, with an expletive.
In a statement, Catzavelos' family said it was appalled by the video.
"It is abhorrent and we fully disassociate ourselves from the sentiments expressed. We reject racism in any form," family representative Nic Catzavelos said.
“Adam has been dismissed with immediate effect from the family business, St George’s Fine Foods and his minority shareholding will be unwound as soon as practically possible. Given the high-profile nature of this development, the business has been temporalily closed for the protection of all its staff. We have no further comment at this stage."
The radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party said it would open a racism case against Catzavelos.