According to the Metro newspaper, stores from two separate retail chains in Sweden have been selling fruit imported from Israel under different countries of origin.

Lidl stores in Malmö and Gothenburg have reportedly been displaying persimmons as having come from Spain, while Ica stores in Malmö and Stockholm have falsely suggested that their Israeli avocados come from Kenya and Spain.

Lidl’s head in Sweden, Mathias Kivikoski, said that the errors were the result of problems with the stores’ internal procedures.

However, many will regard this mix-up as a deliberate attempt to dupe consumers at a time when buying Israeli produce is perceived as highly contentious, given the bloodshed in Gaza.

Kristina Mattsson from the Swedish Board of Agriculture has revealed that her agency intends to investigate the situation as soon as possible.

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