AMSTERDAM — Hundreds of young Dutch men and women turned Amsterdam’s central Dam square into a blizzard of red goop Sunday as they pelted each other with tomatoes.

In theory, the event was set up as a protest against Russian sanctions blocking imports of European fresh produce. In practice, most participants turned out to experience the joy of smacking a loved one — or total stranger — with tomato pulp at close range.

The idea was lifted from Spain’s annual “La Tomatina” festival in Bunol.

“It was hard in there. It was mean. But it was fun,” said a beaming Lois Bloedjes, who came with her sister Sil. “Everything became one big pile of mush. There were people swimming in it on the ground.”

Sil described the smell in the mush pit as “awful” and “somewhat like beer,” but the tomatoes that actually got in her mouth — “the taste was actually not bad.”