Silly outrage watch

Some Muslims in Britain are in a purple fury over crisps (potato chips and the like) that may contain trace amounts of alcohol.

Furious Muslims have called for a boycott of many types of Walkers crisps after it emerged that certain varieties contain trace elements of alcohol.

Some crisp types use minute amounts of alcohol as a chemical agent to extract certain flavours.

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However, a spokesperson for Walkers told the Times that there was nothing the firm could do about listing the traces of alcohol in some of their products.

She said: "There is not enough room on the packaging to list things beyond allergy-causing ingredients that can make people ill.

"A minimal amount of alcohol is used to extract the flavour of some crisps."

I doubt even a mass spectrometer could pick up traces of alcohol in these chips. And surely the enjoinder against alcohol in Islam was intended to keep people sober, not to fret over minute amounts of it that may come into contact with the body.

But this isn't really about the alcohol, anyway. It's about bending infidels to their will.