The Muslim Judicial Council Halal Trust (MJCHT) has completed an inspection of the newly revamped Pick ‘n Pay Waterfront, following a complaint that meat products were not placed correctly. A regular customer visited the refurbished store and found that certified halal cold meats are being stored next to unhalal meat.

The customer, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was concerned the halal and unhalal products could get mixed up and sold to someone who does not consume unhalal meat. Pick ‘n Pay management said the storage facility was approved by the MJCHT and that the fridge and product placement would be reassessed.

Following this, MJCHT director Sheik Achmat Sedick said he personally inspected the fridge in question on Friday. He advised the store to have the fridge stand alone and that it be strictly halal.

“While I was there, the regional manager asked the store manager to see that the non halal meat be removed from the fridge. I was on hand to see this happen,” said Sedick.

The fridge staff was asked to remove the halal sign on the fridge until all the non-halal products are removed. Sedick said the problem was not that it was unhalal food but that the other meat on either end of the fridge was not certified, yet the halal meat on the inside was certified as halal. This caused some confusion.

The MJCHT and Pick ‘n Pay has agreed that the fridge in question be cleaned and from will only stock halal meat products.

“As far as I am concerned they had none-halal meat on either ends of the fridge but it was not mixed with the halal meat which has since been removed,” said Sedick. VOC (Imogen Vollenhoven)