Last week’s findings that revealed the presence of porcine DNA in Cadbury chocolate concerned and angered the large Islamic community in Malaysia where the presumably contaminated chocolate was found by Islamic authorities. New government tests, however, found no trace of pork in the chocolate products sold by Cadbury in Malaysia, a country with a high concentration of Islamic followers whose religious restrictions exclude pork from their diets.
Cadbury is part of Mondelez International Inc., whose brands include Nabisco, Trident Gum, Oreo and Jacob’s Cofffee, among others. While company representatives said they are working with Malaysian authorities and Islamic Affairs authorities to comply with the country’s Ḥalāl requirements the incident has far reaching implications that raise a(nother) flag about food supply chains and the need for consumers to educate themselves about food additives and read food labels carefully.
The culprit may be an emulsifier used in chocolate to stabilize it. Emulsifiers used as food additives can be plant or animal based. They are regularly used by the food industry on immiscible (non-mixable) ingredients that tend to separate, like water and oil for example, to achieve a more a more commercially appealing product that is attractive and palatable to consumers. Many processed foods contain emulsifiers – chocolate, whipped toppings, chewing gum, ice cream, bread, cakes, mayonnaise and peanut butter, are just a few. Additives like lecithin, gelatin, glycerol may come from slaughtered pigs, they may also be of vegetable origin. Many chocolate products generally contain emulsifiers on the list of ingredients.
To guard against consuming food that contains pork meat or by-products Islamic countries have Ḥalāl certified standards for food. In this case, however, Malaysian Islamic consumer groups are sticking to their request to boycott Cadbury products until government authorities prove that the initial findings were wrong.
Vegetarians, vegans, aspiring vegans and anyone else who cares about what goes in the food we eat should become better acquainted with food additives and supply chains in order to avoid unpleasant surprises. Many additives are sourced from vegetable origins or synthetic. This is yet another reason to avoid processed foods as much as possible and keep foods simple, with minimal ingredients. All-natural if possible.
By Giovanna De Gennaro
http://www.minimalistfoodconcept.com
http://totemoolio.wordpress.com/
Copyright Giovanna De Gennaro
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