The discovery of pig DNA in two varieties of Cadbury's chocolate in Malaysia has spread beyond to other brands owned by the same parent, as well as beyond Malaysia's shores to Indonesia, an even larger market for halal products.
On 31 May, the Jakarta Post reported that the national Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) is testing 13 Cadbury products licensed for import into Indonesia, including eight chocolate varieties. The products do not include the two which were found to be contaminated in Malaysia, but there is concern that the Malaysian varieties may have been smuggled into the country, the report said.
The tests follow independent tests carried out by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) on 10 products, none of which were found to harbour pig DNA, said the newspaper.
A Reuters story on May 30 quoted the halal certification body in Malaysia, JAKIM, as emphasising that Cadbury has not been proven guilty as yet as the contamination may have occurred due to external factors.
On 29 May, Channel NewsAsia reported that the Malaysian Muslim Wholesellers and Retailers Association has asked their 800 members to take Mondelez brands off their shelves. Kraft bought Cadbury in 2010 and later split into the Kraft Foods Group, which is focused mainly on grocery products for the
North American market, and Mondelēz, an international distributor of
Kraft Foods snacks and confectionery brands. Mondelez International is listed as Cadbury's owner.
The National Fatwa Council weighed in on the controversy here.