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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
BREAD maker Silver Bird Group Bhd, now embroiled in a controversy over Halal certification at one of its plants, said the temporary closure of its bread mill in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, would result in a negligible loss in revenue this year.
The bread mill churns out 100,000 loaves per day.
The group had to temporarily shut down operations at its Nilai plant a few days ago pending completion of some remedial works requested by the authorities.
Since then, Silver Bird's products delivered throughout the country have been sourced from its bread mill in Shah Alam, Selangor.
"All products from our Shah Alam plant are certified halal by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and the validity expires in mid-March 2007," group managing director Datuk Jackson Tan Han Kook told reporters during a visit to the group's headquarters in Shah Alam yesterday.
Jakim, an agency that operates under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, is the regulatory body that ensures products and services consumed by Muslims are certified halal.
Recent news reports highlighted that according to Jakim halal directory, the certification for Silver Bird's High 5 Sandwich Bread, High 5 The Original Super Sandwich and High 5 Wholemeal Bread had expired on August 14.
"After receiving notice from Jakim, we have taken proactive decision to temporarily replace the Trennaktiv PR100 vegetable oil (used to grease the bread tray) with locally-sourced Tin Grease, a 100 per cent vegetable-based oil certified halal by Jakim. This certificate number 5040 is valid until April 2008," Tan said.
In addressing allegations against the main board-listed company of unhygienic practices and non-compliance with halal rules on food preparation at its Nilai plant, Tan said the group has lodged a report at the Nilai police station.
"We have lodged a police report on September 11 for unauthorised and staged photography by an unidentified individual prior to checks by authorities," he said.
Asked if the group's bread business has been affected by the temporary closure of its Nilai bread mill, Tan said, "We are still gathering data from our distribution network of 12,000 points of sale. We may or may not have experienced a drop in sales... but even if we did, it will be negligible," he said.
The group expects its Nilai bread mill to be compliant and certified by next week after inspection from the Health Ministry and other related authorities this week.
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