SINGAPORE: A man took to social media to warn others about a package of pork sausage which he claimed to have found a piece of plastic inside one of the sausages.
To add insult to injury, the word “halal” can be read on the piece of plastic.
Mr Aaron Chua Hao Jun wrote on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Monday (March 4), “Guys be careful when buying this sausage. There is a (piece of) plastic inside the meat and ‘pretty sure it’s not halal’ (sarcastic remark).”
Mr Chua also addressed commenters who may feel he tampered with the sausage, writing that he’s “not so free to put a plastic halal wording into a PORK sausage” and then perfectly seal it with the material wrapped around it.
He reiterated that he intended to let people know of the incident so they could check the product before cooking, and added that he had purchased the sausage from a brand called Golden Bridge at NTUC FairPrice at Downtown East.
The Independent Singapore has contacted Mr Chua, Golden Bridge, at NTUC FairPrice, for further comment or updates.
Of course, it would be impossible for anything made from pork to be halal, leading one commenter to guess that the sausages were possibly manufactured in the same factory as halal meat.
However, this could cause cross-contamination and is not permitted. Halal products must be independently certified as processed and prepared using halal standards and ingredients. Cross-contamination is strictly prohibited.
Another commenter had an even better explanation: “Maybe the red label with halal is ribbed off. So by right, (the) whole wording should be ‘non-halal’, this makes sense then.
And also this type of sausage always come with one plasticy film but it’s not plastic. U (never) go pasar malam (night market to) eat this before? Also comes with the plastic film outside but its not plastic. It’s called 腊肠.”
Others said something must be wrong with the production plant and that this was a quality control failure.
This is not the first time a foreign object has been found in food, although it is indeed unusual.
Read related: Customer says she found piece of ‘glass’ in her bak kwa floss mooncake
Items such as screws, staple wires, glass, and other such objects have been found in food products in the past. /TISG