Concealed Pork Products Alarm Bosnian Muslims :: Balkan Insight

Elvira M. Jukic

Muslim groups in Bosnia have voiced concern after a survey showed that some food products on sale contain pork substances, though this was not stated on the packet.

The Agency for Halal Quality Certification of Bosnia, tasked with checking if products are permissible for Muslims to consume, has analyzed several products sold in supermarkets.

Damir Alihodzic, who conducted the checks for the Agency, told Balkan Insight that his team found that 10 per cent of the products they checked contained pork even though it was not stated among the ingredients.

?Most products that contained pork, while not stating so, were imported from Serbia, and some were also from Macedonia,? Alihodzic said.

?We also found pork in a Bosnian product that has a label saying 'guarantee 100 per cent no pork',? he noted.

The Islamic Community has accused the authorities of showing disrespect for Muslims by not making official procedures stricter when approving products for sale.

Ekrem Tucakovic, spokesperson of the Islamic Community, told Balkan Insight that Muslims have a right to know that products have been properly checked before being offered for sale.

?It is a matter of disrespect to believers and cheating the citizens,? Tucakovic said. ?I don't know whose fault it is but products have to be checked.?

An assistant? in one store in Sarajevo told Balkan Insight that her customers rarely check the ingredients written on products.

?People don't question the ingredients because they believe the declarations on the labels are correct,? she said.

Mensud Lakota, president of the Consumers' Association in Sarajevo, said that many products are not checked in Bosnia, not only in terms of whether they have pork in them, but other ingredients too.

?If the producer has a certificate, we have to believe the declaration on the product is true,? he said. ?Any more thorough inspections are too expensive to conduct all the time.?

He believes that Bosnia's import criteria are too lax, and that many unchecked products finish up on sale in shops all across the country.

?One can import all kinds of stuff into Bosnia because the system is not strictly regulated,? Lakota said.

Damir Alihodzic believes that the main reason for including pork in products that are sold as "non-pork" is the price.

?Pork meat is cheaper than beef and the main goal of many producers is earning more money, but it is still not right to exclude such data from the list of ingredients,? he said.

People in Sarajevo have divided opinions on the issue, some criticizing the ommissions as offensive and others saying they do not really mind.

Benjamin, 47, said that if the analysis of the Agency was true, some producers were cheating their consumers.

?That is deceiving consumers and offending those who do not consume pork for religious reasons,? he said.

Sandra, 39, told Balkan Insight that she does not care about whether the food she consumes contains pork.

But she conceded that the issue is sensitive, as many people do not wish to eat any pork or pork-based products.

?If there is a sign on the product 'guaranteeing 100 per cent no pork' and it still has pork then it is cheating shoppers and absusing them,? she said.

Adi, 18, agrees that producers are not always transparent about their production and about what they are offering.

?I criticize those who write '100 per cent no pork' and then lie about it - but at the same time I think there is a bit of exaggeration in the whole story about this,? Adi said.

Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/pork-substances-worry-bosnian-muslims

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