The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has debunked claims in a widely circulated image claiming that instant coffee brand Alicafe uses pork gelatine in its products.
This is after an image of a news article from 2011, regarding the use of pork gelatine in a coffee product by another company, was recirculated and linked to Kopi Alicafe.
In fact, the product under the spotlight in 2011 was not Alicafe but an unrelated brand, Kluang Rail Coffee, which Rail Passion Sdn Bhd owns.
In 2011, Rail Passion directors claimed trial to selling coffee powder containing pig DNA, without declaring this on the product label.
However, Jakim said the issue was resolved and both Kluang Rail Coffee and Kopi Alicafe are now halal-certified and do not use pork products.
“Based on our checks, the news clipping was published in 2011 and the issue which has been resolved is made viral again by irresponsible parties.
“Kluang Rail Coffee is now a halal certificate holder. Alicafe products are also halal-certified and unrelated to Kluang Rail Coffee products,” it said.
It added that halal certification is issued after the entire manufacturing process has been audited for halal compliance.
The viral image which wrongly implicated Alicafe also called for a boycott of the product and “Cina DAP” (Chinese DAP).
However, fact-checking outfit Jomcheck found no links between Alicafe and the political party.
The composite image of the 2011 news article and an Alicafe product is now circulating on messaging platform WhatsApp.
No segregated halal certification
In a related matter, an image showing different tiers of halal certification has similarly gone viral on social media and messaging applications.
The image appears to be a poster for a campaign by the Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) to differentiate halal certification logos by type of ownership.
PPIM proposed a green logo be used for products by a fully-owned Muslim company, orange for products from Muslim and non-Muslim joint ventures and red for halal products produced by non-Muslims.
“We try to do the best so Muslim consumers won’t be easily manipulated,” the poster read, alongside a link for donations to the NGO.
Checks by Jomcheck found that PPIM had rolled out this campaign in 2020.
However, in a statement last year, Jakim said it will not differentiate halal-certified products based on the religion of the producers so all halal-certified products have equal opportunity in the market.
Jakim said producers can also print the logo in any colour suitable for their packaging.
Malaysiakini is part of the Malaysian fact-checking alliance JomCheck.
Through JomCheck, Malaysians can submit requests to fact-check a claim by sending a WhatsApp message to the tipline at 017-477 6659 (WhatsApp text only, no calls) or via this link. - Mkini
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