The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has confirmed that a viral message claiming that the department has labelled coffee chains Starbucks and Coffee Bean as “haram” is fake.
The department’s representative told news website Cilisos that the message is “absolutely untrue” (memang tidak sahih) and that both chains are legitimate holders of Jakim’s halal certification.
It is not the first time Jakim has clarified this issue.
In 2019, it released a statement attesting to the chains’ halal status, saying that the fake message circulating at the time first made rounds in 2016.
In 2014, preacher Zazahan Mohamed also denied claims that he had said the two food and beverage chains are “haram”.
He made another denial in 2019, when the issue cropped up again.
The message, recirculating on WhatsApp in the past weeks, claimed that the stores use multiple ingredients derived from pork or contain alcohol.
It alleged that the chains use emulsifier 471 and mono- diglycerides in its drinks as well as cherries dipped in alcohol and rum in its tiramisu cakes.
Emulsifier 471 is a fatty acid used in many food products. It is typically derived from soy, but can also come from animal fat.
According to fact-checking platform MyCheck, the message also has another variant, targeting beverage chain Tealive, albeit again wrongly attributing this claim to Zazahan. Jakim also debunked this claim in 2019.
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