The hype around El Mordjene spread: why the European Union is banning its import ?

La pâte à tartiner “El Mordjene”, connait un succès viral sur les réseaux sociaux depuis quelques jours. MAXPPP – Billel Bensalem/APP

For a few days now, social networks and consumers have been going crazy over an Algerian spread from the Cebon brand. The El Mordjene spread is out of stock and for good reason, its importation is prohibited in the European Union. What justifies such a decision??

How did El Mordjene spread end up on the market?? An investigation is underway, announced the Ministry of Agriculture, after declaring on Tuesday, September 17, that this product is indeed banned in the European Union.

If the investigation is to determine“the circumvention mechanisms that have allowed this product to be placed on the market so far”, the ban, however, actually falls under the rules that apply to products consumed in the European Union.

For the ministry, quoted by several media outlets, the viral spread does not comply with “all the conditions necessary to export to the European Union goods containing dairy products intended for consumption”.

Namely, “compliance with European requirements in terms of animal health and food safety".

A high level of safety on products manufactured in the EU or imported

In an article dedicated to food safety, the European Parliament explains that the European food safety policy “aims to guarantee a high level of safety at all stages of production and distribution, for all food products marketed in the European Union, whether they are manufactured within the Union or imported from third countries”.

In the case of the El Mordjene spread, it is the presence of dairy products that is the blockage. As TF1 points out, Europe, following the rules mentioned above, considers that all products of animal origin coming from Algeria cannot be sold in EU supermarkets.

No authorization to unload

As reported by the Algerian media TSA, the president of the Algerian Association for the Protection of Consumers (Apoce) Mustapha Zebdi, explained that a shipment of this spread had not been “authorized to be unloaded in Europe”, invoking “Article 20, third paragraph, of Regulation No 2202/2292 of the European Union European Union".

This stipulates that "third countries or regions of third countries introducing composite products into the Union shall be listed […] as having in place a control plan approved in accordance with Article 6 of this Regulation for the species or product from which the processed products of animal origin contained in the composite products originate".

However, the president of the Algerian consumers' association does not see the ban solely through the prism of the European regulation, but sees it as a maneuver to protect European products from a form of competition. “The product came in and traveled, and when it became a danger to their beloved product, they did all the tests and released all the standards”, said Mustapha Zebdi.