How to detect paintbrushes made from pig bristles?

23 Feb 2017

In Feb 2017, almost 2000 paintbrushes were found to be made from pig bristles in a crackdown led by the Ministry of Domestic, Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism¹. The raid was made following a lab test on paintbrushes sent to a local university¹. The paintbrushes were mainly imported from China and most sellers were unaware of the materials used to make the brushes². The selling of paintbrushes made up of pig bristles were not prohibited in Malaysia. However, according to the Trade Description Act (Order 2013), items made from pig or dog must be properly labelled and kept separately so the Muslims are aware of its origin when making choices ¹.

Paintbrushes made from pig bristles are usually known to have split ends and different thickness as compared to paintbrushes made from other materials¹. In order to further confirm the observation, we are pleased to recommend the use of PorcineTrace PCR Kit and PorcineTrace Real-time PCR Kit from 7FoodPillars. These kits are able to help you in accessing the Halal integrity of the paint brushes.

References:

1. The Star Online. 8 February 2017. More paint brushes suspected to have pig bristles seized. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
2. The Malay Mail Online. 9 February 2017. Report: After crackdown, hardware traders label all paint brushes as non-halal. Retrieved 22 February 2017.