Ham found in Muslim sandwich

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Monday 15th Sep 2003.

A Muslim woman was left outraged when she found ham in the middle of a supermarket's tuna mayonnaise sandwich.

Bradford family support worker Amreen Mughar, whose religion bans her from eating pig meat, says she choked when she made the discovery in her Morrisons sandwich.

She claimed the situation was made even worse by the fact that she has been buying her vegetarian lunchtime sandwiches from the supermarket's Thornbury store for the last two years - believing them to be suitable for Muslims.

Today Morrisons bosses did admit that their tuna sandwiches made in store could not be guaranteed not to come into contact with any ham.

Disgusted, Amreen, 26, took the half-eaten sandwich back in its wrapper to the store and refused customer services' offers or a refund and vouchers.

"I didn't want my money back or any vouchers. I wanted their reassurance that their vegetarian sandwiches don't come in to contact with ham or pork - but they said they couldn't guarantee it."

Amreen says although the supermarket's non-meat sandwiches don't carry a vegetarian symbol, the store is still misleading Muslims and vegetarians who believe they are eating food that's suitable for them.

She said: "As a Muslim I can't eat ham or pork or anything that's been touched by it."

Now she wants Morrisons to agree to display notices at all its sandwich counters telling people that its vegetarian fillings could have come into contact with meat while being made.

"If they don't put up these notices then the best thing for Muslims and vegetarians would be to completely boycott Morrisons sandwiches until they do."

A Morrisons spokesman said today: "We are sorry to learn of this unfortunate incident and have apologised fully to the lady concerned.

"We do not make any claim that sandwiches prepared for our sandwich bars are suitable for vegetarians. Our deputy store manager did speak to the lady who found the ham and she was offered a full refund together with a gesture of our goodwill.

"We produce hundreds of sandwiches in-store on a daily basis for our sandwich bars and in all of our preparation areas, staff work to stringent guidelines.

"We will be looking into what has happened on this occasion."

He said none of the sandwiches made in-store in the sandwich bar could be guaranteed for vegetarians as tuna and ham sandwiches were made side by side.

But he said pre-prepared sandwiches made out of store came with a stamp which guaranteed them suitable for vegetarians.

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Seven tons of ham stolen in Australia

SYDNEY, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Thieves who stole 17 tons of ham from an Australian warehouse left behind a message reading "Thanks. Merry Christmas."

The holiday well-wishing was found on the wall of the Zammit Ham and Bacon Curers warehouse in Sydney when staff came in to work Monday, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The meat, worth up to $87,000, apparently was removed through a large hole in the warehouse wall, said owner Anthony Zammit.

He is offering a reward of nearly $5,000 to anyone with information that could lead to the recovery of the meat. He insisted Christmas orders would be met regardless.

"We're working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and (we've) put on extra staff," he said. "We won't let anyone down."

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Would-be meat thief beaned with ham

Restaurant owner stops him with a frozen chunk to the face

GLOUCESTER, Mass. - A meat thief is no match for an angry restaurant owner swinging a ham.

Joe Scola says he heard a noise in his Scola's Place restaurant in Gloucester, Mass., and saw a man trying to get away with his arms full of meat taken from the restaurant freezer.

Scola says that when he caught up with the man and started taking back his stock, the man raised a five-pound log of frozen Italian meat over his head as if to use it as a weapon.

The restaurant owner had a frozen ham in his hand and slammed it into the man's face, making a gash. The stunned thief dropped his loot and ran.

Police say they're haven't found the man responsible for the Wednesday confrontation.

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Dim-sum stuffed with Pork-flavor Cardboard

BEIJING, July 12 (UPI) -- A dim-sum restaurant in Beijing allegedly sold buns stuffed with a cardboard treated with caustic soda and flavored with pork fat.

Authorities in the Chinese capital closed the shop after a television program reported on the unusual and possibly dangerous filling, The Beijing Times reported. The owner allegedly decided to cheat his customers as pork prices rose and reportedly said that he was saving $132 a day.

The owner allegedly used a prep kitchen some distance from his shop to prepare the buns so customers wouldn't realize what they were purchasing. According to the television program, the filling was prepared by soaking cardboard in water and caustic soda to make it look like pork and then adding pork flavor and fat.

Health and safety inspectors said they would to examine the 58 dim-sum restaurants in the Chaoyang district to make sure no one was tricking customers.

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Woman Held in Stabbings over Pork Chops

MONROE, La., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Louisiana authorities were holding a Monroe woman accused of stabbing her 15-year-old brother and 12-year-old son in an argument over pork chops.

Tammie Josette Peter, 31, was charged with aggravated battery and aggravated second-degree battery, the Monroe News Star reported Wednesday.

Sheriff's deputies said Peter returned home with her boyfriend Sunday and became enraged when she found her 15-year-old brother cooking two pork chops only for himself.

Peter allegedly took one of the pork chops and threw it at him. In the altercation that ensued, she allegedly picked up a knife but was soon disarmed by her boyfriend and her son.

However, a few minutes later Peter retrieved another knife from the kitchen, deputies said.

This time the 12-year-old son was stabbed in his left shoulder and was later treated at a hospital. The 15-year-old brother was stabbed in the chest and hospitalized in critical condition.

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Benefit ham breakfast for Richard Hewitt

A BENEFIT HAM BREAKFAST WILL BE HELD THIS WEEKEND IN LYNNVILLE FOR RICHARD HEWITT, SON OF MRS. FRANCES HEWITT.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL COME TOGETHER SATURDAY MORNING IN LYNNVILLE AT THE SODA POP JUNCTION TO RAISE MONEY FOR HEWITT, WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER.

THE BREAKFAST WILL BE FROM 6:00AM UNTIL 11:00AM. YOU WILL GET A PLATE OF COUNTRY HAM, EGGS, HOME FRIES, GRAVY AND BISCUITS, ALL FOR $8.00.

COOKING FOR THE BENEFIT WILL BE THE LYNNVILLE MAYOR, THE LYNNVILLE CHIEF OF POLICE, THE GILES COUNTY SHERIFF AND FRIENDS OF LYNNVILLE.

EVERYONE IS ENCOURAGED TO COME OUT AND ENJOY THE FOOD AND HELP A GOOD CAUSE.

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