Cadbury Malaysia, part of Mondelez International, recalled two batches of chocolate after tests from the Malaysian Ministry of Health found pork DNA in the products.
JAKIM, the country’s Islamic development department, today said it has analyzed 11 samples of Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond from the factory, none of which tested positive for porcine DNA.
Cadbury stands by halal certification
JAKIM added the earlier tests which found pig DNA may have been unfair as the products could have been contaminated after leaving the factory, according to Reuters. The samples had been taken from store shelves.
However, the halal certification for the two products will remain suspended pending further testing and investigation of the supply chain.
Mondelez International said in a statement,“We have yet to receive the official report from JAKIM, but we are delighted it has announced its tests of the two chocolate variants do not contain porcine DNA.
“We assure our customers and consumers that all our products are properly labelled and consumers can enjoy them with confidence. Our manufacturing processes follow JAKIM’s halal regulatory guidelines and have the benefit of certification by JAKIM as a result.”
On Friday Cadbury told consumers on Facebook it had ‘proactively and voluntarily’ recalled the affected batches, but stood by its halal certification and had ‘no reason to believe’ there was any porcine or pork-related ingredient in its chocolate.
Cadbury Malaysia certifies its products as halal, as pork is prohibited in the Islamic diet. Around 60% of the country’s population is Muslim.
Last week’s announcement led more than 20 Malay-Muslim groups to call for a boycott of Cadbury products.
Fellow Muslim countries Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are testing Cadbury products, while officials in Dubai have assured local consumers that none of the affected batches were imported into the city.