HALAL PORK ENRAGES UK MUSLIMS

London, 29 Rajab 1436/18 May 2015 (MINA) – Facing Muslim fury, a UK supermarket chain has been forced to apologize to Muslims after it labeled black pudding, which contained traces of pork, as halal.

“This is absolutely outrageous and I am deeply offended by this,” Manahil Khan, one of Aldi’s customers said, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“I am pretty sure many others of the Muslim community are also very offended by this.”

“It is demoralizing and goes against one’s religious morals and scripture and I speak on behalf of every Muslim and human that does not deserve to be misled by any sort of false claim of halal food or lies about what we consume.”

The product, Punjab Pakora Black Pudding Pakora, which contains pork blood and skin, was stocked at Aldi supermarkets with a UK Health Code that labeled it suitable for Muslims.

Outraged customers contacted the supermarket chain urging it to correct the mistake.

“Regarding the Punjab Pakora Black Pudding Pakora, we have now investigated this matter with the supplier, who has advised that the packaging was incorrectly labeled as Halal-certified and the problem is currently being rectified,” an Aldi spokesman was quoted as saying as the news went viral.

“We apologize for any confusion caused by this unfortunate, isolated matter.

“While this is not a food safety or legal compliance issue, any customers who are not satisfied are welcome to return their purchase to store for a full refund.”

The owners of Punjab Pakora company that produces the product referred to the mistake as an error of a manager in charge of what is printed on product labels.

“The mistake happened when we did the print run and, unfortunately, our manager failed to spot this error and got approval for printing,” Kushal & Vinita Duggal said.

“We have been trying our very best and hardest (to correct the issue) and have contacted different clients involved and have sorted the issue.”

Islam considers pigs unclean because they are omnivorous, not discerning between meat or vegetation in their natural dietary habits unlike cows and sheep, for instance, which eat only plants.

Muslims do not eat pork and consider pigs and their meat filthy and unhealthy to eat.

The concept of halal meaning permissible in Arabic has traditionally been applied to food.

Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.

Now other goods and services can also be certified as halal including cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals and financial services. (T/P006/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)