In Tesco's defense, the Pringles don't contain any actual pork -- their bacon flavor is purely artificial. Still, that fact didn't stop consumers from taking to social media to express their dismay (and, in some cases, amusement) at Tesco's insensitivity.
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post | By
By Joe Satran | June 25, 2015
A London outpost of U.K. supermarket chain Tesco came under fire this week for an extraordinarily insensitive display pegged to Ramadan, which began on June 17.
Employees at a Tesco on London's Liverpool Road set up a red cardboard box in one of the supermarket's aisles. It was labeled with the Pringles logo, a white crescent and the words "Ramadan Mubarak," meaning "Blessed Ramadan." So far, so good, right?
The problem was what was in the box: canisters of "smokey bacon"-flavored Pringles.
The display was doubly problematic. Islamic dietary codes classify all pork, including bacon, as haram, or forbidden to devout Muslims. In addition, the strict observance of Ramadan requires fasting during the day, so most Muslims probably aren't snacking on that many Pringles during the holiday.
In Tesco's defense, the Pringles don't contain any actual pork -- their bacon flavor is purely artificial. Still, that fact didn't stop consumers from taking to social media to express their dismay (and, in some cases, amusement) at Tesco's insensitivity.
The person who first spotted the display, Raza Hassan, told BuzzFeed that he found the deal "hilarious."
Pringles and Tesco have since apologized for the gaffe, and Tesco has removed the offending display.
"We are proud to offer a wide range of meals and products to meet the needs of our customers during Ramadan," a Tesco spokesperson told HuffPost UK. “We recognize these Pringles weren’t in the most suitable place and our store colleagues have now moved them."
Read original post here: UK: London Supermarket Markets Smokey Bacon Pringles To Muslims For Ramadan
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At the Beijing University's restaurant, the only place I was supposed to eat at, during my stay there, I usually tried to make sure that there was no pork in my meals. Once I liked a soup so much that I wanted it the next day as well. Remembering my usual concern my host asked if there was any pork in the soup. The stunning reply was: Perhaps there is some.
ReplyDeleteOf course I was a little unhappy, but my host was furious. So, the chef was summoned. The fellow came and after hearing the story, he said in a matter of fact way that it was customary to add a little bit of pork for flavor. When the brain-washing about the flavor of pork is so complete, it is a second nature. So, if someone says that pork is so tasty, he/she may not be trying to be insensitive.
I may want to forgive the person for not being able to see that some folks may find a mention of pork disgusting. With that in mind, I might forgive Tesco for putting pringles with "artificial" bacon flavor on Ramadhan offer. But it will still be hard for me to eat em. Even after the Beijing experience.