Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-06-02

Saudi Arabia has withdrawn Cadbury chocolate bars from the market for tests to ensure the products do not contain traces of pig DNA, after two of its products in Malaysia were found to violate Islamic standards.

Pork is strictly banned in Islam and traces of pig DNA were found during routine checks for non-halal substances in Malaysia, also prompting Indonesia to test Cadbury chocolate.

The scandal over the ingredient discovered in Malaysian Cadbury’s chocolates has prompted outrage among some Muslim groups in the country, who have called for a boycott on all products made by the company, and its parent, Mondelez International Inc.

Cadbury Malaysia said in a statement it had withdrawn the two products as a precaution and that it had no reason to believe there was pork-related content in its other foods.

“We stand by our halal certification and we have the highest levels of product labeling standards,” it said.

Meanwhile The Saudi Food and Drug Authority said late Saturday on its website the decision is only a precautionary move and involves testing samples of Cadbury Dairy Milk hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk almond roast.

The statement said, however, that the Cadbury chocolate sold in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom is not imported from Malaysia, but is produced locally or in Egypt.

“We do not have any proof (yet) that there are any traces of pork in the products sold in Saudi Arabia,” the food and drug authority said.

But an investigation is underway to determine if any of the Cadbury sold on the Saudi market was imported from Malaysia, it added.

“With reagards to Cadbury South Africa, firstly they do not import any chocolates from Malaysia…So South African Cadbury chocolates are halaal suitable,” the Theological Director of The South African National Halaal Authority (SANHA) Moulana Mohammed Saeed Navlakhi told Radio Islam. 

“We cannot declare Cadbury’s chocolates worldover to be suspect or haraam purely because of the Malaysian incident,” said Moulana Navlakhi

(Twitter: @Faizie143)