The Oreo cookie marketed in Algeria is not halal. The report was prepared by Apoce President Mustapha Zebdi, rekindling the debate on illegal food imports.
All kinds of foreign products are offered for sale in Algeria on Facebook and in some shops, while many items are officially banned from import. There are groceries, cosmetics and even medicines that are brought into the area with the so-called “cabas” or trabendo.
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Sometimes the capacity of imported food products is not certified as “halal” or does not meet the requirements of the Muslim religion.
The president of the consumer protection association Apoce, Mustapha Zebdi, this Sunday, December 18, gave an example of a product that is for sale in Algeria that is not “halal”. This is the Oreo cookie. In fact, the Oreo brand’s official website clearly mentions that the cookie is not “halal”.
(Source: https://fr.oreo.eu/faq)
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Mustapha Zebdi, contacted by TSA this Monday, indicates that his posting on Facebook is not specifically targeting the Oreo brand cookie.
“Our goal is to draw attention to a phenomenon in general and not just to the Oreo product itself. There are other products,” explains the President of Apoce.
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Mustapha Zebdi urges Algerian consumers to be vigilant about what they buy. “Consumers should be wary of certain products entering Algeria unchecked through grocery bags, a phenomenon that has gained momentum in recent years. All this to protect the moral interests of consumers, “he adds.
Apoce’s president mentions a large number of “suspicious products” entering Algeria and being sold “fraudulently”.
Attack the problem at the source
These products are not only brought back in the suitcases of regular transport passengers via Algerian airports and ports, says Zebdi.
“We even found European yoghurt. It didn’t come in a suitcase anyway. A month ago we found a depot in Oran, filled with products, some of which expire quickly. These are products illegally imported into Algeria. The shopping bag is not necessarily a suitcase, it can also be a container,” Mustapha Zebdi continues.
When asked what the authorities can do to combat the phenomenon of uncontrolled importation of questionable products, Apoce’s president sees only one solution: “repression”. “The solution is simple. If you walk into a grocery store and find suspicious products, confiscate and destroy them,” he says.
For Apoce’s president, the authorities must tackle the problem at the source by cracking down on the importers of suspect products who supply them to the various companies in Algeria.
“We need to go further by doing some research to get to the sources of supply and add the culprits to the scammers list. The convenience store buys it from a supplier. The state has the means to get to the sources that feed the markets,” Zebdi concluded.