Debate first began in 2013 when former PM

A Danish town has made it mandatory for pork to always be found on the menu at municipal canteens in the latest round of the country's debate over multiculturalism.

The decision has engulfed councillors in Randers, central Denmark in the long-running 'meatball war', which was first ignited in 2013 when the former prime minister criticised nurseries that dropped pork from their menus.

Despite a tiny fraction of nurseries not serving pork, anti-immigration groups have used the issue to champion Danish food and culture.

It comes just a week after politicians debated whether to seize cash and valuables from refugees to pay for their resettlement.

On the menu: Sales of pork products and live pigs in Denmark account for around five percent of the country's exports

'We will ensure that Danish children and youth can have pork in the future,' Randers town councilman Frank Nørgaard told Randers Amtsavis.

'We just want to ensure pork in our institutions for those who want it. This isn't about a general distrust of our institutions' leaders, but more and more places around the country are trying to sneak through [policies that say] there shouldn't be pork served in the institutions,' Nørgaard added.

While the council said their aim was not to force anybody to eat anything that 'goes against one's belief or religion, the anti-immigration Danish People's Party (DPP) said it was 'unacceptable to ban Danish food culture'.

'The DPP is working nationally and locally for Danish culture, including Danish food culture, and consequently we also fight against Islamic rules and misguided considerations dictating what Danish children eat,' party spokesman Martin Henriksen wrote on Facebook.

By contrast, a former integration minister from the Danish Social Liberal Party, Manu Sareen, accused the Randers politicians of 'wanting to impose a forced ideology... in this case on children.'

'Meatball wars': Randers Town Council has made it mandatory for pork to always be found on the menu at municipal canteens in the latest round of the country's debate over multiculturalism

Debate: Former Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt (pictured above in Randers) first ignited the row when she criticised nurseries for dropping pork from their menus in 2013

'It really is incredible what politicians... get involved in,' he wrote on Facebook.

A survey run by tabloid Ekstra Bladet found that only 30 out of the country's 1,719 daycare institutions had either stopped serving pork or switched to halal meat, meaning meat that was prepared following Muslim rules.

The DPP agreed in November 2013 to abandon a closely-fought mayoral campaign in suburban Copenhagen if the incumbent promised to serve more pork meatballs in public canteens, as well as bring back the town's official Christmas tree.

Sales of pork products and live pigs in Denmarl account for around five percent of the country's exports.



