Burger King says its food is halaal

Little-known body does clearances

SOME Muslims continue to have doubts about the halaal status of Burger King products, although the fast-food chain insists that it has obtained clearance.

Western Cape-based Muslim Judicial Council Halaal Trust director Achmat Sedick said the trust had recently received “only one or two queries” regarding the matter.

The 12th South African outlet opened at The Pavilion shopping mall in Durban recently. A Muslim consumer, who asked not to be named, was one of the latest to inquire on a social media site last week whether it was permissible under Islamic law to consume products from the franchise.

She said she had also contacted an Islamic scholar after seeing an online post condemning Burger King products as being forbidden for Muslims.

The scholar, she claimed, had told her in an e-mail that the products were for- bidden because “there was too much doubt” surrounding their status. He referred inquiries to The Majlis, an Islamic organisation on whose website the post appears.

“Islamically [sic], we say ‘if in doubt, leave it out’ and there has been a lot of controversy regarding the certification,” she said.

Burger King South Africa’s chief executive, Jaye Sinclair, confirmed that the franchise’s products were “sourced and produced in halaal-compliant facilities”.

We follow the international standards of certification, including the supply chain of the store being certified

The franchise is certified by the Shura Assistance and Relief Trust, part of the Muslim faith-based organisation Majlisush Shura Al Islami in Cape Town.

Tiana Lambert, a spokeswoman for Burger King, said the decision to go with the trust was “based on the fact that they understand our processes, supply chain and meet our requirements. They certify all our stores nationwide.”

Shamiel Basadien, a spokesman for the trust, said the certifying body was not as well known as it might be because its operations had until recently been confined to the Western Cape.

“However, since commencing certification of the Burger King outlets, we have expanded our operation to other provinces.”

He said the certifier had nine staff members nationally.

“We follow the international standards of halaal certification, including the supply chain of the store being certified, the actual operation of the store, including the staff requirements in the store and all general hygiene issue required for certification,” he said.

“One of the key factors of halaal certification is unannounced visits to the stores to ensure that compliance is upheld.”

Ebi Lockhat, KwaZuluNatal-based spokesman for the South African National Halaal Authority, said he could not comment on the halaal status of Burger King products because the franchise had not approached his organisation regarding certification.

However, he said the authority’s national halaal helpline had been inundated with queries, especially after Burger King opened branches in Johannesburg and Durban.

“We inform consumers that we are not in a position to give any assurance due to the lack of information.”

Lockhat said his organisation knew of the Shura Assistance and Relief Trust as a faith-based welfare organisation, but not of its halaal certification efforts.