Local authorities and 55 local businesses in Mexico City recently prepared a 173 ft long sandwich in a bid to give the nutritious Mexican ‘torta’ a much-needed boost in sales as it struggles to compete with imported fast food chains.
Measuring an impressive 53-metres in length (173-feet) the gargantuan sandwich fell shy of the world record but in addition to being the biggest that Latin America has ever produced, it was a community unifying event which brought together local businesses and school children.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest sandwich ever made was in 2005 in the United States and weighed 2,467.5 kg (5,440 lb). The longest sandwich was made by two Italians in 2004, who meticulously assembled a monster sandwich over 630 metres (2066 feet) long.
Hundreds of litres of mayonnaise, mustard and other condiments were used in Mexico City alongside 1000s of loaves of bread, lettuce, onion and tomatoes. Each section of the sandwich weighed a gut-busting 700 kg (154 lb), with each segment made by local chefs.
"What we are trying to do is to support the social development of small businesses which are normally family businesses.” Local government official, Elena Edith Segura Trejo, told the Daily Mail last week.
"In the last ten years, the sale of the torta has fallen 60 percent due to foreign fast food which does not have the same nutritional value of the torta.”
The long torta challenge was part of a three-day fair that endeavours to support the traditional Mexican sandwich and more than 20,000 local businesses across the country that are dedicated to producing the delicious baguette. Organisers hope to sell hundreds of thousands of tortas throughout the annual fair.