Iceland’s president has admitted he went “too far” when he said he disliked pineapple pizza and wanted to ban it from the Nordic country.

Gudni Johannesson’s comments two years ago sparked an international debate about the popular Hawaiian pizza, which was reportedly invented by a Canadian restaurateur in the 1960s.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, weighed in at the time, tweeting his support for the “delicious Southwestern Ontario creation” and saying he was a member of “#TeamPineapple”.

The self-proclaimed inventor of the dish, Sam Panopoulos, also intervened, insisting Mr Johannesson ”should know better”.

“That’s where the influence of this office sort of, yeah, got the better of me,” Mr Johannesson told Canadian TV show As It Happens. “I went a step too far.”

He continued: “As much as I do not like pineapple on pizza, the individual freedom of having the topping of your choice overrides that.”

Last year, Mr Johannesson issued a statement attempting to put the issue to rest.

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“I like pineapples, just not on pizza,” he said on Facebook. “I do not have the power to make laws which forbid people to put pineapples on their pizza. I am glad that I do not hold such power.

“Presidents should not have unlimited power. I would not want to hold this position if I could pass laws forbidding that which I don’t like. I would not want to live in such a country.”