We are writing to seek an explanation from Aldi as to why you appear to be intentionally misleading customers about the origin of your medjool dates.
In a reply to an earlier query by IHRC dated 8 February 2024 you stated that the medjool dates you would have on sale from March 3 are sourced from South Africa.
However, our research reveals that this might not be the case.
Aldi sources its dates from the Israeli company, 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 indicates 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 box.
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?
You should be aware that if you are selling dates that originate in illegal settlements, your company may be liable for inclusion on an international United Nations blacklist of companies operating in illegal settlements compiled by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
We are shocked that a reputable company like Aldi which is trusted by millions of shoppers is dealing with a company as unscrupulous as Mehadrin.
This would not be the first time that Aldi has been accused of deceiving customers over medjool dates. Last Ramadan (April 2023) your 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 you scanned the barcode that Israel was identified as the country of registration. According to UK food regulations, it is mandatory to indicate the origin or place of provenance of a food.
And just before that, during the 2023 Christmas period you sold “Specially Selected Medjool dates” from Mehadrin. Then too, the packaging did not show the place of origin. Only by searching the Aldi website was it revealed that they are supplied by an Israeli company.
The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the above is that Aldi is knowingly misrepresenting the origin of medjool dates to circumvent a national customer boycott campaign targeted at Israeli companies.
In the interests of transparency and customer confidence we would like you to answer the following questions:
- What steps if any you have taken, despite the many complaints you have received about the latest batch of Mehadrin dates, to ensure that they are in fact from South Africa?
- Will you end your association with Mehadrin now that you have been made aware of their dubious practices?
- Will you apologise to British Muslims for marketing medjool dates in a way that cynically manipulates their religious sentiment?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
IHRC and Inminds Human Rights Group
