If you are planning to visit Singapore anytime soon or are already in Singapore, do take caution when eating out at the country’s A&W outlets, especially if you are concerned about Halal statuses of restaurants.
This is because the popular American fast-food chain is not halal-certified in the island republic.
Mothership reported that the matter was revealed by Twitter page @halalSG which is managed by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).
In answering a query by a Twitter user, @halalSG said the restaurant is not halal-certified.
Heya friends. It seems the news about A&W caught many by surprise.
— halalSG (@halalSG) June 18, 2020
To clarify - A&W is not Halal-certified, and we are not processing any application at the moment.
@halalSG however called for customers to understand that there was a difference between being halal and halal-certified.
We’d like to highlight that there is a difference between “not Halal” and “not Halal-certified”.
— halalSG (@halalSG) June 18, 2020
What is the difference, you may ask?
And how do I decide if it *is* Halal?
Check out this thread right here to help you decide! https://t.co/EUTtLyNvE3
Not halal-certified yet says A&W
Meanwhile, according to a report by AsiaOne, Kelvin Tan, A&W International's director of marketing and communication, said that the company has “every intention” of being halal certified.
They have also assured that even without having the official certificate, the ingredients used were halal-compliant.
"Right now, we would like consumers to know that it’s a Muslim friendly menu, no pork no lard, and as soon as we can find the time to submit our application to MUIS, we will do so immediately,” Tan told CNA in April last year.
Anyways, it's good that the information is out there so you guys can decide for yourselves.