Netizen says ‘Arabiki’ is Japanese word for ‘coarsely ground’ and there’s no intent to mislead or be insensitive to Arabs or Muslims

SINGAPORE — There was a bit of a stir online over locally sold Arabiki sausages, with some appearing to take umbrage over the product’s name.

A Facebook post was circulated recently, showing a package of Arabiki sausages from FairPrice. The caption reads, “Very insensitive!!! NTUC FairPrice. Look at the ingredients…why named Arab…? Be very careful my Muslims family…”

“‘Arabiki’ means “coarsely ground” in Japanese, and occasionally, the word is taken as shorthand for Japanese-style sausages. Their popularity has expanded beyond Japan to other countries.

Some netizens were upset mainly due to possible confusion over the sausage name and issued warnings.

For some, however, the issue was overblown. One Reddit user wrote on Tuesday (Jan 31), “Honestly, I feel the post is exaggerating the issue. ‘Arabiki’ is a Japanese word meaning ‘coarsely ground’. There is no intent to mislead or be insensitive.”

Other Redditors tended to agree with him.

Some leaders, including Ms Nadia Hanim, endeavoured to educate and bring clarity.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to FairPrice for comment.

Meanwhile, a Google search of ‘FairPrice Arabiki sausage’ will result in this:     

/TISG

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