IHRC and Inminds Human Rights Group have challenged Aldi to come clean about the origin of Medjool dates being sold by the supermarket chain.
After customers picked up on the Israeli bar code of the dates sold at the start of Ramadan, iHRC wrote to the company asking for clarification.
In its reply to IHRC, Aldi said that it would be stocking Medjool dates produced in South Africa during the Ramadan period starting 3 March 2024.
However, our research suggests that Aldi is not telling the whole truth and that the dates that have appeared on its shelves in Ramadan are supplied by an Israeli company.
Aldi’s Medjool dates are supplied by a company called Mehadrin. Mehadrin has a notorious track record of falsifying the origin of its dates.
Mehadrin grows much of its produce, including medjool dates, in Israeli settlements that are deemed illegal under international law. It markets this produce as “Produce of Israel” in order to evade public boycott campaigns against illegal settlement goods.
Mehadrin has also been known to mislabel dates produced in illegal settlements as Palestinian. Mehadrin’s website states that it is the supplier of dates to Offa Exotics in the UK. Offa Exotics markets its dates as “Produce of Palestine” with a Palestinian flag on the boxes.
The letter states: “The Mehadrin medjool dates that you have put on sale from March 3 are labelled “Produce of South Africa”. But with Mehadrin’s track record how can we sure that this is the case, especially when a scan of the barcode indicates that it is registered in Israel?”
The letter accuses Aldi of deliberately deceiving customers over a long period. Last Ramadan (April 2023) Aldi stores sold dates from Mehadrin in Ramadan packaging, mentioning the Prophet Mohammed and featuring Arabic script to entice Muslim customers, without indicating the country of origin of the dates. Again, it was only when one scanned the barcode that Israel was identified as the country of registration.
The letter can be read in full here.
[ENDS]
For more information or comment please contact the Press Office on (+44) 208 904 0222 or (+44) 7958 522196 or email media@ihrc.org
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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
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