Cadbury chocolates halal - Fatwa Council

The original decision on the Cadbury product which was confirmed as 'halal' before it was claimed to contain the pig DNA has been maintained and the product can be consumed by Muslims, according to the National Fatwa Council.

The chairman of the Committee of the National Fatwa Council, Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said it was included in the category 'Umum al-Balwa', a rampant problem which was difficult to avoid.

"In the case of ready-made products that had been marketed to consumers and produced through processes using clean and halal ingredients and had been confirmed as 'HALAL', but later found it had been contaminated with pig DNA in certain batches only, then the committee had decided that it was categorised as 'Umum al-Balwa'.

"The ruling on the product is referred to the original ruling, that is, halal for consumption because the contamination occurred beyond the scope of control and difficult to avoid," he said in a statement today.

The Health Ministry earlier detected two samples of the Cadbury chocolate, namely the Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond which contained pig DNA (porcine).

Abdul Shukor said Muslims who had consumed such chocolates need not have any doubt about the cleanliness of their body and need not clean their stomach, mouth or change their blood.

"Islam is not a religion that is too rigid and inconvenience its believers, especially in a situation or action that is beyond their knowledge or control," he said.