Jihad declared on Cadbury: Malaysian Muslims upset with confectionery giant after two batches of chocolate ended up with pork DNA

Muslim groups in Malaysia call for holy war against chocolate maker

Confectionery giant accused of 'crossing the line' after pork traces found

Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Almond 'tested positive for traces of porcine DNA'

Company recalls two batches of their product amid threats of legal action



Groups call for Cadbury factories to be 'shut down immediately'



Malaysian Muslims have called for a holy war against the confectionery giant Cadbury – after pork DNA was found in some of its products.



A group of more than 20 Malay-Muslim organisations say they want to declare jihad against the chocolate maker after two batches of chocolate products were recalled.



The company has said that it was informed that samples of its Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond had ‘tested positive for traces of porcine DNA’.



Two batches of Cadbury's chocolate were recalled in Malaysia after traces of porcine DNA were found (file picture)

According to Malaymailonline, a news conference was held in Kuala Lumpur where the groups claimed Cadbury had ‘crossed the line’ and that quick action was now needed.



The website quotes one of the group presidents, Ustaz Masridzi Sat, as blaming social ills in Malaysia on Muslims eating food that was not halal.



He told the news conference: ‘Because the person eats pork it is difficult to guide him to the right path.



‘When the day of judgment comes, that person will be wearing a pig-face because of what he has eaten.



‘We need to unite, we must declare jihad.’



Cadbury said it had been informed of porcine traces in some of its products following tests carried out by the Health Ministry in Malaysia (file picture)

One group chief, Abu Bakar Yahya, claimed the pork traces were part of a wider attempt to ‘weaken’ the faith.



Another called for a nationwide boycott on the Cadbury’s products saying its factories should be ‘shut down immediately’, Malaymailonline reports.

The organisations involved included the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM), Perkasa, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Darul Islah Malaysia, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia and the Halal Muslim Entrepreneurs’ Association.

One woman, described as 'hysterical', asked the conference whether Cadbury would now 'wash away the tainted blood in our veins'.



FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO GLOBAL BEHEMOTH: THE RISE OF CADBURY The company started in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a grocer's shop at 93 Bull Street in Birmingham selling cocoa and drinking chocolate. By the 1830s the firm was operating on a commercial scale. Cadbury went from one small shop in Birmingham to becoming the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley's (file picture) Forty years later complete control of the company was handed over to Richard and George Cadbury and by 1875 the first milk chocolate bar was produced followed by the first Easter egg. A new factory was constructed in Bournville in 1879 and by the turn of the century Cadbury Milk Chocolate was launched. The firm adopted its iconic purple and gold wrapping and 'glass and a half' symbol for Dairy Milk in the 1920s. Decades later and following post-war growth, Cadbury merged with Schweppes prompting further expansion. The brand became so popular that by 1990 a designated visitor attraction, Cadbury World, had opened. Ten years ago the joint company bought gum manufacturor Adams to become a world leader in its sector. After Cadbury and Schweppes went their separate ways in 2008, Cadbury became a part of Mondelez International. In 2011 it had revenue of £11,346,002,000. Today it is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Wrigley's. It has its headquarters in Uxbridge, London, and operates in more than fifty countries worldwide.

PPIM president, Datuk Nadzim, said talks were already underway with Malay NGOs over the possibility of taking legal action adding that he wanted Cadbury products to 'go to waste'.

The representatives also threatened to lodge a police report against the firm in the near future.



The Malaysian Islamic Development Department is already said to have suspended the halal certification of the two Cadbury products involved in the controversy.



Cadbury Malaysia said it had been informed of the porcine traces following tests carried out by the Health Ministry.

The firm says it has all of its products certified halal to fall in line with Islam's dietary restrictions and that a review of the supply chain is being carried out.