Food supplier to sue over frozen squid rings rumours

The squid ring supplier which got the wrong sort of ink spread about it is threatening to sue the two social media posters who claimed their rings were made of pork rectum. — KAMAL SELLEHUDDIN/The Star

A food supplier, whose squid rings were accused of being sourced from a certain land animal, is threatening to sue the two netizens who posted the claim on social media.

The New Straits Times reported that Shen Hua Resources was planning to go to court over the claims that its frozen squid rings were made of pork rectum, which the company said had damaged its reputation and sales locally.

Its CEO Rodney Soon also said the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry were investigating the claims and had collected samples of the squid rings.

A representative from Shandong Halal Certification Service in Malaysia – a foreign halal certification body recognised by Jakim – also spoke out against the claims, saying pork intestines’ physical structure was totally different from squid.

He explained that intestines would shrink and collapse into a lump when cooked, while squid keeps its shape. This difference could also be identified under the microscope.

mStar reported that the Facebook post had gone viral last week, with users sharing accusations on other platforms too, though some users questioned the authenticity of the information.

The link between pork rectum and frozen squid ring may have originated from a 2013 episode of This American Life, a US-based radio show.

However, the show’s producers couldn’t find any instance of pork-based imitation squid being passed off as real squid while the US Food Safety and Inspection Service also stated it was not aware of such a dubious switch.