PUTRAJAYA, June 3 ― The Health Ministry will work closely with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to monitor food products and set a common benchmark when testing them.
Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said this on his Facebook account in response to Jakim’s halal declaration yesterday of two Cadbury chocolate products which were earlier believed to be tainted with porcine DNA.
“The issue is not on the inconsistency of the ministry’s laboratory but due to the different benchmarks set by different laboratories,” he said yesterday.
“What is important now is for us to standardise the different benchmarks and obtain the validation from Standards Malaysia so the end result would be accepted by the public.”
Hisham said the ministry was still investigating the cause of the contamination.
Malay Mail Online reported Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom as saying 11 samples of the confectionery giant’s Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond were sent straight from the factory to a special accredited laboratory for testing.
“Pig DNA was not found in the samples,” he said.
Cadbury’s Malaysian outfit had scrambled to recall two batches of chocolate products found tainted with porcine DNA by the Health Ministry last Saturday.
Jamil Khir said the tests by the Health Ministry could have been flawed as the samples were not brought in directly from Cadbury’s factory.
There was a possibility that the previous sample testing could have been “contaminated”, resulting in porcine DNA being detected, he added.
The minister also said Jakim would review its earlier halal suspension of the two Cadbury chocolate products following the latest findings.
He added Jakim would hold a briefing for all affected parties to prevent any further “misunderstanding” on the matter.
More than 20 Malay-Muslim groups had called for a nationwide boycott on all Cadbury products, saying the confectionery giant was attempting to “weaken” Muslims in Malaysia.
Rumours of the porcine taint first cropped up on social media sites two weeks ago, prompting the ministry to carry out an analysis.
Cadbury Malaysia, had in a statement, reassured consumers its products were halal and safe for consumption.
The company’s head of corporate affairs Raja Zalina Raja Safran said Cadbury was “delighted” with Jakim’s findings based on the latest laboratory tests.
“We assure our customers and consumers that all our products are properly labelled and consumers can enjoy them with confidence,” she said.
Cadbury said it had yet to receive Jakim’s official report on the matter but insisted the company’s manufacturing process met the agency’s halal regulations.
