Retailer lashed for mislabelling Muslim dates from Israel as South African

An apparent deliberate concealment of the origin of Medjool dates by supermarket chain Aldi UK has caused an international storm after it was allegedly discovered that the dates were in actual fact from Israel and not South Africa, as purported on the labels, are were sold to Muslim customers during Ramadan.

Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community, and the fast is often broken by eating dates.

And now an investigation by The South African has unearthed a letter from High Commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom, Jeremiah Kingsley Mamabolo, demanding answers from the UK retailer.

SA’S HIGH COMMISSIONER TO UK DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM ALDI

Mamabolo, in a letter addressed to the CEO of Aldi UK Giles Hurley, says the mislabelling of the dates “represents a serious legal concern regarding consumer misinformation and potential violation of trade descriptions and labelling laws”.

“It has come to our notice that Medjool dates purported to be ‘Produced in South Africa’ are being sold in your stores. Upon scanning the barcodes of these products, the origin is indicated as Israel,” says Mamabolo in the letter, dated 4 April 2024.

The letter also states that misrepresenting the source of a product was not only a legal infringement but also damaged the credibility and trust of consumers.

Mamabolo also added that if the company that owned the South African production was from Israel, this posed a “significant moral dilemma, especially considering South Africa’s well-documented stance on the conflict in Gaza”.

“Consumers choosing to purchase products based on ethical considerations are potentially being misled, which is of great concern to us,” Mamabolo said.

This mislabelling places South Africa in a delicate position, since the country has taken the lead in dissenting voices against Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing Jerusalem of perpetrating genocide against the people of Palestine. And on 26 January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, sided with South Africa in granting Pretoria’s request for a humanitarian aid.

ALDI UK’S DENIALS

Mamabolo said the matter was made worse by the statement issued by Aldi in early February 2024, which assured customers that the Medjool dates were a “seasonal line for Christmas and is no longer available to buy”.

“This issue has gained the attention of the Islamic Human Rights Commission [IHRC] and others and is causing consternation among consumers, especially during the sensitive period of Ramadan,” the high commissioner said.

The London-based IHRC has demanded that Aldi UK remove the Medjool dates from its UK stores that do not carry the country of origin on the packaging.

The IHRC has also accused the retailer of deliberately concealing the origin of its “Specially Selected Medjool Dates” to circumvent a consumer boycott of Israeli products.

“We believe that the decision to leave out these two standard pieces of information is a calculated attempt by Aldi to hide the Israeli origin of its dates at a time when mass consumer boycotts are targeting Israel in response to the state’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” said the IHRC in a strongly worded letter to the company.

The IHRC said it regarded this as a deliberate attempt by Aldi UK to hoodwink Muslims and others into buying a product they would not otherwise purchase on ethical grounds.

“Withholding such information is also an attack on consumer choice, as it denies consumers the ability to make an informed decision at the supermarket shelves,” the commission said.

DIRCO SAYS MEDJOOL DATES HAVE BEEN PULLED

Asked for comment, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Clayson Monyela said the department was aware of the matter and following the high commissioner’s letter to the retailer, the misrepresenting labels had since been removed from the products.

“The High Commissioner’s Office is an extension of the department. Therefore, we know about the letter and the high commissioner’s demand for the labels to be removed,” said Monyela.

“As far as we know, the demands have been adhered to and the matter has been resolved so there will be no need for legal action.”

However, it is unclear when the “product of South Africa” labels on the Medjool dates were removed and how many were wrongly sold as South African, instead of Israeli. Attempts to reach Aldi UK have proven unsuccessful.

SA’S CASE AGAINST ISRAEL

In a historic first, South Africa filed a lawsuit at the end of December, accusing Israel of genocide in its war on Gaza and seeking a halt to the brutal military assault that has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians to date – nearly 14,500 of them children and 9500 women, as per Al Jazeera.

While the court did not order Israel to cease its attacks, it nevertheless asked the Israeli military to adhere to the Genocide Convention by preventing and punishing incitement to genocide, as well as by providing humanitarian aid.

“Israel has been ordered to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip,” said the president of the ICJ, Judge Joan Donoghue, at the time of the ruling.

This article will be updated once comment is received from Aldi UK.

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