Cape Town – The Checkers store in Rylands has been warned by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), after a pork product was incorrectly labelled as halaal.
The incident caused a stir on social media when a shopper alerted others about a pack of minced meat containing both beef and pork which had the certified halaal sticker. The ingredients listed showed the mince was made of 55% beef, 24% pork and 12% water.
Social media users questioned how the mishap occurred, as the store is known for selling halaal-only products.
In a statement, the MJC said: “Checkers Rylands, a halaal-certified store, sells only halaal meat products. We were alerted to a mislabelled meat product that incorrectly indicated it contained pork. Upon investigation, we confirmed the product is halaal, and the situation arose due to human error. The incorrect ingredient label was delivered to the store. Staff applied the label without verifying it.”
The MJC said the store had been issued a warning and instructed them to implement measures to prevent future occurrences. “All halaal-certified stores undergo regular inspections by area and store inspectors to ensure compliance. We thank the consumer who immediately brought this to our attention, enabling a swift response.”
Checkers did not respond to questions but said: “The supermarket chain would like to apologise for any offence caused by this labelling error. The store has since corrected and addressed the oversight which was due to human error.”
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
