Muslims given mislabelled pork in Swiss prison

The Cazis Tignez prison is located directly next to the Realta prison. Tignez is also affected by the false meat declaration, as it is supplied by the same prison butcher's shop. Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller

Ten inmates at the Realta correctional centre in Cazis, in canton Graubünden, have filed complaints against unidentified parties and the prison management after discovering that meat was falsely labelled. At least one of the inmates worked in the prison's own butchery.

During a search in September, authorities confiscated nine meat products, reported Mathias Fässler, Head of the Cantonal Office of Corrections, in Chur on Tuesday. Tests showed that a “Rindsplätzli” (beef schnitzel), labelled as pure beef, contained two-thirds pork.

The public prosecutor’s office in Graubünden is currently investigating the forgery of documents and counterfeiting of goods. (symbolic image) Keystone/Christian Beutler

Around half of Realta’s 200 inmates are Muslim, for whom pork consumption is forbidden according to the Koran. The mislabelled meat was sold in the prison’s farm shop and was also consumed by staff.

Negligence or discrimination?

In response, the canton immediately closed the butchery and dismissed the butcher. For now, only external butchers are permitted to supply meat, Fässler told Swiss public television, SRF. How the mislabelling occurred remains unclear, and a criminal investigation is underway.

The public prosecutor’s office is determining if the mislabelling was due to negligence or had a discriminatory intent, said government councillor Peter Peyer to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The butcher, responsible for verifying meat labels, had worked in the prison’s butchery for 28 years, confirmed Fässler. Expressing regret, he apologised, saying: “I am extremely sorry for all those who have been affected, be they our inmates, staff, or customers.” Internal control procedures are set to be strengthened.

At the request of SRF, the Graubünden public prosecutor’s office confirmed that it is currently investigating unknown parties for document forgery and product counterfeiting.

Translated from German using DeepL/amva