JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 2017-Dec-05 — /Travel PR News/ — South African Airways (SAA) would like to assure all Muslim customers that the airline maintains the highest Halaal requirements and standards in food preparation.
“SAA’s Muslim customers can be assured that AirChefs, the catering subsidiary of the airline, is compliant with the stringent Halaal requirements as stated and governed by the governing body, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), and is also regarded as one of the oldest, most representative and most influential religious organizations in South Africa,” says Tlali Tlali, SAA’s Spokesperson.
The airline’s response on this matter follows the publication of a sensational report in today’s edition of the Daily Voice newspaper where anonymous persons made unsubstantiated claims of non-compliance.
“The claims made are baseless and malicious and appear to be the works of a handful of disgruntled employees who wish to bring the name of AirChefs and by extension, SAA into disrepute.
“Nevertheless, the newspaper proceeded to publish a sensational report under a misleading and harmful headline, based on a mere say so of its sources without attaching weight to the countervailing evidence to the claims made. The MJC is a highly respected body in the Muslim community and the story published casts aspersions on their independence and integrity,” says Tlali.
“This article has the potential to create doubt in the minds of our Muslim customers, and employees, which is a regrettable consequence of highly irresponsible journalism that falls short of the standards expected of the media. Furthermore, the article caused considerable damage to the AirChefs brand with the potential of even hurting the company’s future commercial interests. We are therefore considering our legal options in this regard,” says Tlali.
SAA would like to set the record straight to its Muslim customers and employees as follows:
1. Following the anonymous call to the MJC, its area manager responded without delay and paid a visit to the site to do an inspection and conduct an audit on Tuesday, 28 November. The facility was found compliant to Halaal requirements and was given the highest possible rating of “extremely efficient”. From the report of the MJC Area Manager there were no food related or Halaal processes being violated. We are in possession of the audit report to this effect.
2. The anonymous callers contacted the MJC once more, insisted that there were irregularities and that if the MJC failed to take steps against AirChefs, they would approach the media.
3. The Chief Operating Officer of MJC, Sheikh Moosa Titus went to AirChefs to conduct a further audit and satisfied himself that all Halaal processes stipulated were complied with.
4. AirChefs has central production units in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. The production facilities are ISO 22000 certified which is the global food safety management system standard, and demonstrates its commitment to food safety systems and Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and criteria. ISO 22000 is one of the highest standards of approval in the world.
5. The AirChefs kitchen in Cape Town is Halaal.
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Issued by SAA Group Corporate Affairs
About South African Airways:
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 56 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, SA Airlink, and its low-cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low-cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award in the regional category for 14 consecutive years and the winner of ‘Service Excellence Africa’ for three years. Mango and SAA hold the number one and number two successive spots as South Africa’s most on – time airlines.
For media information, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
General Enquiries:
Switchboard: +27 (0)11 978-1000
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa – https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care – https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa
Marketing Enquiries:
Head of Marketing
Ms Kim Thipe
Office: +27 (0)11 978-5597
Mobile: +27 (0)83 263-7040
Email: KimThipe@flysaa.com
SOURCE: South African Airways