UAE: Pork-fat sausages raise concern in Kuwait Category: Home, Industry News UK & World

12/9/12 english.alarabiya.net

Sausages in Kuwait containing pork fat, which makes then unfit for religious reasons, have sparked alarm in the country. (AFP)

By AL ARABIYA

Sausages that contain pork ingredients in the Kuwaiti market has raised concerns among government bodies and consumers alike, driving authorities to launch an expansive campaign to confiscate suspicious shipments.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce closed three warehouses in which 60 tons of chicken sausages that contained pork fat were stored, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas reported.

The confiscated packages, however, bore the “Islamic slaughtering” label, which means that animals were slaughtered according to the Islamic method for producing Halal meat.

Islam restricts the consumption of pork.

Walid Mallallah, an official at the Ministry of Trade, said the sausages have not yet been distributed among retailers and therefore have not reached consumers.

“We managed to return 1,668 boxes that were shipped to one of the restaurants before the sausages were offered to customers,” he said.

According to the paper, the owner of one of the three warehouses was arrested for importing meat that was not fit for human consumption and was released after signing a pledge he would no longer do so.

Faisal al-Ansari, head of the Kuwait City branch of the Trade Control Division, affiliated to the Ministry of Trade, said the closure of the three warehouses came as part of an official decree issued by the ministry and after presenting the closure reports to the Trade Prosecution Authority.

“Those responsible for bringing in the shipment will be interrogated and the warehouses will remain closed until the Trade Prosecution Authority looks into the matter and issues a verdict,” he added.

Ansari called upon the Ministry of Health to devise a system that subjects food products to examination in order to prevent inacceptable goods from entering the market.

Surprisingly, the first test conducted on the sausages showed that they were in fact fit for consumption. It was the second test that revealed they contained pork fat, which makes then unfit for religious reasons.

Ansari called for imposing penalties on all dealers who bring into the market commodities that either endanger the lives of consumers or violates their religious teachings.