Enforcement officers seize pig bristle paint brushes

The paint brushes being taken off the shelves.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor office of the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry seized eight paint brushes of various type believed to be made from pig bristles from three hardware stores here.

The ministry's Selangor enforcement chief, Abdul Rosik Yakub, said the seizures were made in an operation against the sale of such brushes without any labels on them at hardware stores in the state.

"Hardware shops are free to sell these brushes but they must be labelled and kept separately to make it clear to consumers, especially Muslims," he told reporters on Monday.

He said the paint brushes seized from the three premises, at Taman Sri Muda and Kota Kemuning, did not bear the A913 and A680 codes.

According to the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, the A913 and A680 codes on the brushes denote that they are made from pig bristles.

He said the paint brushes seized on Monday were not coded and would therefore be sent for laboratory tests to determine the type of bristles used.

Abdul Rosik said the agency would intensify efforts to monitor the sale of paint brushes in the interest of Muslim consumers.

It was reported on Sunday that the ministry would inspect all hardware stores and supermarkets across the country for such paint brushes.

The move was taken after paint brushes sent for laboratory tests at Universiti Putra Malaysia Halal Products Research Institute were certified to be made from pig bristles. - Bernama