El Mordjene spread banned in EU, Algeria accuses Nutella of pulling strings

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The buzz around Algerian spread El Mordjene Cebon has it killed its marketing? Would the Nutella behemoth view this sudden glory with a jaundiced eye, to the point of wanting to nip its young rival in the bud? Praised on social networks, This product, available in France for several months, has just been banned by the European Union, provoking the anger of French and Algerian consumers.

“Incredible” texture, “amazing”, “very, very good”: on Tik Tok, influencers are full of praise for the El Mordjene Cebon spread, which is selling at prices well above market prices, at more than 10 euros per pot.

Images of pallets full of this creamy product are circulating on the networks, indicating at which small grocer the famous paste is available.

An investigation opened

The phenomenon is going viral, but is not to the taste of the European Union, which has just banned the marketing of peanut butter-colored jars.

El Mordjene Cebon has no right to exist on European territory, “Algeria does not meet all the conditions necessary to allow a third country to export to the European Union goods containing dairy products intended for human consumption in compliance with European requirements in terms of animal health and food safety”, explained the French Ministry of Agriculture to AFP.

An investigation has been opened “to determine the circumvention mechanisms which have allowed this merchandise to be placed on the market until now,” the ministry added.

Two shipments (of El Mordjene Cebon spread, editor’s note) are currently blocked at French border checkpoints.

Pride in Algiers

A decision that does not please French consumers. “I struggled to get it but, frankly, I hope they will put it back in France and Europe,” says influencer Benoit Chevalier, who has more than 11 million subscribers on Tik Tok.

Only the French retail giant Carrefour has so far expressed its intention to put it up for sale. It explained on Monday to AFP “hope to be able to market it as soon as possible (…) in compliance with European regulations relating to the importation of food products.”

In France, the leader in the sector is by far Nutella, produced by the Italian Ferrero, which holds more than three-quarters of the market for chocolate spreads in supermarkets, according to data from the sector federation (FCD).

Did Nutella’s hegemony play a role?

It is also the hegemony of Nutella on the European market that provoked the decision of the European Union, says the president of the Algerian association for the protection of consumers (Apoce) Mustapha Zebdi.

The product came in and traveled, and when it became a danger to their beloved product, they did all the testing and came out with all the standards.

“We will make a firm decision,” he promised, without elaborating further.

Contacted by -, Ferrero “refutes the information circulating regarding its potential involvement in the ban on the marketing of any product in France.”

Only the rules set by the European Union allow the marketing of consumer products in France and the rest of the continent to be authorised or not.

In Algeria, the native country of this spread, residents say they are proud of the product’s international success.

Algerians are rushing to it

“I traveled almost 20 kilometers because of this El Mordjene paste. It has become very famous,” explains Hassen Mekid, 49, to AFP, praising “the product of our country.”

Algerians are “rushing” to buy the spread, says Rabie Zekraoui, a 23-year-old shopkeeper in the capital, Algiers. “We only have one box left,” he says, asserting that it is necessary to “support Algerian products.”

Is the Cebon brand behind this buzz?

“We are pleased about all this, but the reality of the story is that we have nothing to do” with this craze, assures Amine Ouzlifi, spokesperson for the Cebon brand, whose headquarters are in Tipaza, 70 kilometers west of Algiers.

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