Ajinomoto, the Japanese food seasoning giant, apologised to the Muslims of Indonesia this week in several major newspapers over the use of pig enzymes in its flavour enhancer product, Reuters reports. The news last week that Ajinomoto's monosodium glutamate (MSG) contained pig enzymes had caused a storm among Muslims in Indonesia and the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), or Muslim religious leaders, had issued a fatwa (ruling) banning its consumption. In advertisements on Friday, the local unit of Japan's Ajinomoto Co Inc, said it was sorry to the country's Muslim population, which is forbidden under Islam to consume pork and it products. The company said last week it began withdrawing all products containing pig enzymes from the market and expected the process would take three weeks to complete.
