11. Halal
Meanwhile, a story published in 2012 saw a surge of popularity in the first half of the year.
A halal food manufacturer had been fined £10,000 after beef proteins were detected in a chicken kebab product.
The story from June 2012 is still one of the most popular on the site this year.
Preston-based Shazan Foods makes ethnic frozen foods, such as samosas and kebabs, all of which are halal certified. The firm supplied the ‘chicken’ kebabs to Asda stores nationwide.
Trading Standards prosecuted the firm for ‘causing Asda to sell chicken kebabs not of the nature demanded by the purchaser’.
Preston Magistrates Court said the firm had been “reckless and negligent”, and ordered it to pay around £900 costs in addition to the fine.
The case followed a complaint to Trading Standards by a consumer who bought a packet of Shazan’s Frozen Chicken Kebabs at Asda in Roehampton, London in June 2011.
When cooking the product, the customer suspected it contained meat other than chicken. The ingredients declaration on the food’s packaging had failed to give any indication that the product might contain beef or dairy products.
In court, the manufacturer admitted it had changed the recipe of its kebabs by adding yogurt to the ingredients. However, it had neglected to update its packaging, which meant that customers trying to avoid dairy products would have been misled.