The IHRC is demanding that the supermarket chain Aldi remove Israeli dates from its British stores that do not carry the country of origin on the packaging.
In a strongly worded letter to Aldi today, IHRC accuses the retailer of deliberately concealing the origin of its “Specially Selected Medjool Dates” in order to circumvent a consumer boycott of Israeli products.
The dates have appeared in Aldi stores a few weeks ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims traditionally break their fast with dates.
The packaging does not show a place of origin, nor does the bar code allow for easy identification of the originating country because it is printed without any numbers.
The letter states: “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.”
The IHRC regards this as a deliberate attempt by Aldi to hoodwink Muslims and other people 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 full letter can be read here.
Statement from Aldi:
Aldi does not currently sell Medjool dates; the Specially Selected Medjool Date product was a seasonal line for Christmas and is no longer available to buy.
A new Medjool date product will be available in our stores from 3rd March and throughout Ramadan. These dates are sourced from South Africa, and this is detailed on the packaging.
We provide clear information about all our products, either on the pack or on our website, in line with product rules and regulations.
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[…] 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 […]