When the Paysan Breton (Eureden) group certifies products…halal.
Brie cheese or Breton butter certified halal? This is not an April Fool’s joke, but a move by Eureden, the Breton cooperative group that owns the Paysan Breton brand, among others.
“Feeding people well is the most important mission in the world, it is our mission and we are proud of it,” the Breton agricultural giant proudly proclaims on its website. An agricultural giant that owns the d’Aucy, Paysan Breton, Mamie Nova, Prince de Bretagne and Cocotine brands… and has certified its products as halal.
It was a reader of Breizh-info.com on Reunion Island who sent us a package of Brie Paysan Breton with halal certification, which prompted us to inquire about the practices of this group, which is targeting a turnover of five billion euros in the coming years.
Looking closer, we find that EPI Ingredients (part of the Laïta group, based in Quimperlé and owned by Even (50.57%), Terrena (31.01%) and Eureden (18.42%)) has obtained Halal certification from “Halal Control Germany” for the milk powders produced at the Créhen and Yffiniac plants, but also for the casein, caseinates and whey produced in Créhen.
The certificate from “Halal Control Germany”, an organisation recognised by the MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia), “allows EPI Ingredients to benefit from a high level of assurance. Compliance with the good practices associated with this certification is necessary to export to countries with Muslim religion, such as Indonesia, Malaysia…” we read here.
This means that for every kilo of halal food sold under the Paysan Breton brand, a percentage is taken by Halal Control Germany and by repayment taken by the Muslim faith community in Germany. For example, the Paysan Breton newspaper (which is not the newspaper of the brand we are talking about) cites the Danermark case, where millions of Danish kroner are provided to the Norwegian Muslim Council in this way. “For every kilo of halal meat sold in Norway, the Norwegian Muslim Council is given one kroner for verification of certification. In 2015, 260 million euros were earned by the council,” the newspaper explains.
The 7000 growers who are members of the Paysan Breton brand and whose farms are located in Brittany and the Pays de la Loire, within a maximum radius of 70 km from the production sites, will then be paid for production that is halal for products that are resold internationally and, as well, on the island of La Réunion, an overseas department, will also be resold in France, will be partially halal certified, thus enriching Muslim communities with halal certification The Monoprix website also offers Paysan Breton butter for sale, moulded, soft (yuck)…. and halal.
According to LSA Conso magazine, sales of halal products in large and medium-sized shops (GMS) in France accounted for nearly €380 million in 2019, with growth of 5.6% (6% in 2018) in all sales combined.The Eureden group is acting in this way to make money from a code of conduct defined by a religious practice, Muslim in this case.
Consumers have the right to decide whether they want to support organisations and religions that are not their own, as well as practices concerning the part that concerns animals, which have been denounced by several animal welfare associations. Practices denounced even by Muslims themselves who believe that… halal certification in France very often has nothing… to do with halal: for example, the newspaper Al Kanz explains in an article that “almost all poultry consumed by Muslims in France is subjected to eletronarcosis, with the blessing of the mosques, which profit from it as much as the manufacturers.
In the end, it is always the consumer who is cheated. And the manufacturers who enrich themselves at the consumer’s expense….