France bans the entry of Algerian chocolate El Mordjene Cebon
The blocking of two lorries loaded with Algerian El Mordjene chocolate at French border crossings has triggered a battle on social networks.
Through the social network X, Algerian citizens began to fill the social network with posts blaming relations with Morocco for the ban on the entry of ‘Algerian Nutella’ into the French Republic.
لماذا إسم مرجان بالضبط و لماذا هذا المنتج الجزائري 🇩🇿حدرت منه اوربا و منعته من دخول أسواقها لآفتقاده ابسط معايير الجودة العالمية وكذا خطورته على صحة المستهلك ؟.. بالمقابل المنتوجات المغربية🇲🇦 تصول وتجول في جميع ارجاء اوربا و يشهد لكل منتج مغربي بالجودة .. pic.twitter.com/9dHdRI7F4M
— @Soleil Chaud أسعد (@SoleilChaud6) September 15, 2024
The main criticism of Algerian users on X was directed at the hypocrisy of French citizens who have a larder full of Algerian chocolate, but in front of the cameras act in a way that is contrary to what they really think.
At the same time, they compared it in satirical videos with the Italian brand Nutella to prove that Algerian chocolate is just as good as other European brands.
On the contrary, other users posted sarcastically that the concern of Algerian activists is excessive and that they are trying to make noise to avoid talking about the problems that really concern Algerian society, especially after the re-election of Abdelmadjid Tebboune as president for a second consecutive term.
قرار فرنسي يمنع دخول كريمة و شكولاته #مرجان الجزائرية لـ #فرنسا بسبب توفرها على مواد غير آدمية … السؤال 🤔
لماذا لا تملك بلاد اللقطاء شجاعة منع استيراد الخميرة الفرنسية Saf-Instant
أم أن القرار هذا يصطدم بأزمة رجال 🇩🇿🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/m9LmeejVis— بدر مفتاحي | Badr Miftahi (@miftahibadr01) September 14, 2024
Since the French Ministry of Agriculture announced last Tuesday that the Algerian spread El Mordjene Cebon did not comply with EU health standards, there has been no end of posts on social media about the issue.
French authorities seized containers full of Algerian product of ‘dubious safety’ at the port of Marseille, relying on European Union (EU) Regulation No. 2202/2292 which stipulates that ‘Union countries are prohibited from importing milk and its derivatives except under an agreement that includes the country on the list allowed for import’.
المعاملة بالمثل لي قالوا ماش مليحة والله تلقاه داير احتياطي تاع مرجان شوكولا في داره وقدام الكاميرا يبدا يتفلسف
— غزلان (@A04Ghiza) September 13, 2024
‘Algeria does not meet all the necessary conditions to allow a third country to export to the EU products containing dairy products intended for human consumption in accordance with European animal health and food safety requirements, the import of this commodity is not authorised by the applicable regulatory framework,’ the Ministry of Agriculture clarifies on its website.
However, for the president of the Algerian consumer protection association, Mustapha Zabadi, the importance of the Nutella brand in Europe and its association with the French brand Ferrero are the reasons why El Mordjene was banned from entering French territory.
In France, Nutella products made by the giant Ferrero are at the forefront in this field, accounting for more than three quarters of the chocolate spread market in supermarkets. In 2023 alone, more than 90 million jars of Nutella were sold, about 171 jars per minute.
Zabadi based his statements on French supermarket chain Carrefour's intentions to include El Mordjene chocolate spread, although this decision was eventually reversed by the French Ministry of Agriculture due to a ban on the product, hinting at a manipulation of the regulations.
Along the same lines as Zabadi, Lotfi Khammar, representative of the National Federation of Algerian Exporters, claimed and denounced that El Mordjene chocolate was banned after generating a high degree of acceptance throughout Europe, especially in France. Khammar clarifies that competition with Nutella was the real cause of the ban on the Algerian product entering France.
In addition to publications on social networks, French media such as France 24 were the target of harsh criticism from Algerian media and agencies, which branded the French channel as ‘half rubbish’.
In turn, media outlets such as Al-Khabar attacked France 24 for wanting to divert attention from its internal problems by playing on Algeria's reputation in favour of Morocco, which they accuse of being able to send all its products with ‘total freedom’ and that ‘they roam all over the European Union’.
