Authorities in Malaysia will not label products that contain “haram”-related words such as “beer”, “bacon” and “ham” as halal according to a statement by minister Dato’ Seri Jamil Khir Baharom yesterday (17th April).
In this statement, Dato’ Seri Jamil also stated that the use of the term “halal beer” was against the Manual Procedure for Malaysia Halal Certification (MPPHM) used by Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Source: The Malay Mail
“In the manual, it’s clearly stated that products which use names or have names synonymous with non-halal products, or confusing terms like ‘ham’, ‘bak kut teh’, ‘bacon’, ‘beer’ and the like, cannot qualify for Malaysian halal certification.”
“Halal food or halal artificial food colouring also cannot use names or names synonymous with confusing terms that refer to non-halal food,”
So, as long as the name of a product is related to anything deemed “haram”, it will not be given a “halal” certification, even if there isn’t anything “non-halal” in the product.
In relation to this, fast food chain A&W changed the name of their root beer to “RB” in order to retain the beverage’s “halal” certification back in 2013.
Source: A&W Canada
More recently, famous pretzel chain, Auntie Anne’s also failed to gain “halal” certification due to the name of one of their products, “pretzel dogs”.
Of course, this got everyone giving their opinions on the matter. One netizen commented, “We’re not stupid. You think small things like these will make us confused?”
Well, what do you think of this move?
Also read: Labelling All Paint Brushes As ‘Non-Halal’ Is Against The Law In Malaysia
