Pork controversy grows! Diyanet flooded with 'Köfteci Yusuf' calls: There is no sin, we will ask for forgiveness from Allah

News: Nagihan Yılkın

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry recently published a list of foods that were subject to imitation and adulteration. Following the release of the list, it was announced that pork had been found in the products of a food company in Düzce. While the name of the restaurant was not disclosed, social media posts implied that the company was Köfteci Yusuf.

It was alleged that Köfteci Yusuf took action before the ministry to prevent its name from being disclosed, obtaining a stay of execution order from the court, thereby preventing the company's name from being revealed on the imitation/adulteration list.

It has emerged that the detection of pork in samples belonging to Köfteci Yusuf, which has 278 branches across Turkey, was made twice, in February and March of this year.

In both separate reports, it was determined that while no "hoofed-winged" samples were found, "pork" was present in the samples taken.

Following the 'pork' posts that sparked debate on social media, the ALO Fetva 190 hotline, where religious questions are answered, was flooded with calls.

The question, "We ate at Köfteci Yusuf, if the meat we ate was pork, is there a sin?" was directed to the fatwa hotline.

'THERE IS NO SIN, WE WILL ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FROM ALLAH'

In the response provided, it was stated, "There is no liability or sin in eating it unknowingly. One must be careful and investigate. We were eating there because it was considered reliable; since we had no knowledge of it, there is no sin. We will ask for forgiveness from Allah for having eaten it unknowingly."

'THE STATE'S STATEMENT IS IMPORTANT'

Stating, "We do not know the true face of the news," the fatwa hotline representative said, "Sometimes it can be done with malicious intent to smear. It is not difficult to forge a document; one must look carefully. One should stay away after the state makes the necessary statement. Sometimes companies try to smear each other; one must check if this is true news. The state's statement is important. They will already impose the necessary penalties. One should not go there knowingly."

On the other hand, it was learned that Yusuf Akkaş, the owner of the Köfteci Yusuf brand, has not been heard from for some time and his whereabouts are unknown to anyone.

(Yusuf Akkaş, owner of the Köfteci Yusuf restaurants, which have become a major topic of discussion in Turkey)