MP praises Mc Colgan’s response as muslims say they’ll test meat

The Food Standards Agency in the North says no pork meat was found in halal products supplied by a Strabane company to Prisons in England and Wales. Mc Colgans says as soon as traces of pork was found
in tests, products were withdrawn.
Meanwhile, an Irish Muslim leader is warning the discovery of pork DNA in halal products could damage the reputation of Irish meat, and more thorough checks will now be carried out by muslim authorities.
Speaking on RTE today, Dr Ali Saleem said for a Muslim, eating pork was “equivalent to taking drugs”.
He said Irish beef had a “wonderful reputation among Muslims in Britain and Ireland” but it would now have to be tested by the Muslim community’s own agencies.
The Food Standards Agency in the North has conrfirmed that no pork meat was found in halal products meant for prisons in England and Wales.
West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty has praised McColgan’s, saying the company immediately withdrew products after traces of pork DNA were found.
In a statement, he said Mc Colgans, like virtually all companies in this line of work, make a wide variety of different meat and poultry based products and experts on the industry have verified that as such it is impossible to avoid cross-contamination at some level.
IN this instance, he said, trace elements were detected, and the Food Standards Agency is stressing there is no question of this being a public health issue.