MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) – Halal products of Moscow’s Tsaritsyno meat processing plant will be examined in laboratories in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following recent reports that pig DNA has been detected in them, the chief of Russia Muftis Council’s International Center for Halal Standardization and Certification said Monday.
“A delegation of the Muftis Council is departing for an exposition in Malaysia, and we agreed with our colleagues that product samples will be delivered to their laboratories too,” Aidar Gazizov said.
After Malaysia, meat samples will also be brought to UAE labs, he said, adding that an independent Russian lab with an international status has conducted tests of sausage produced by Tsaritsyno that has revealed no signs of pork.
Last week’s tests revealed pig DNA in sausages and ham produced at Tsaritsyno, but a meat research expert said that did not necessarily mean that the products actually contain pork.
Moscow’s Tsaritsyno meat processing plant has been supplying halal meat products to the Russia Muftis Council’s International Center for Halal Standardization and Certification since 2007. The company has denied any use of pork in its halal products.