A&W S’pore Not Halal-Certified Despite Their Claims That They Want to be Halal-Certified

Back in 2017, A&W already announced that they were coming back in 2018. This had been planned since 2011.

And they said they would come back halal-certified.

With years of anticipation since the chain was shut down back in 2003, A&W’s return in 2019 was met with one of the longest queues at Jewel Changi.

But there remains the question: Halal-certification where?

April 2019: Not Halal Certified

Just last year April, Mr Kelvin Tan, A&W International’s director of marketing and communications said that A&W wishes to cater to various groups in the local market.

“The Muslim community formed a very big chunk of our business (in the past) and I think right now we will continue to respect and recognise that this particular market is very important to us.”

They also said they had plans to submit their application to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) for halal-certification.

Why wouldn’t they? The return of A&W was so popular, they ran out of stock and even had people fighting over A&W seats.

Then they had their second outlet.

But all this time, our Muslim friends were just looking at us, wondering when they can finally eat A&W.

At least they can fight over seats.

In fact, the point about halal certification was such a big deal that we had at least two articles mentioning this.

Back then, they even said their food is already halal, even without certification.

“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.”

Promising words, they were. But even a year later…

April 2020: Still Not Halal Certified

Muslim food bloggers already ate A&W, ensuring other Muslims that A&W’s food is halal-compliant.

And then according to a HaveHalalWillTravel update on their A&W review, they did a check with A&W in end April 2020, and A&W said they are currently applying for halal-certification.

Then HHWT checked with MUIS, but MUIS haven’t received the application.

It looked like halal-certification was pending.

So Muslims were like:

Some took to A&W’s Facebook.

 

Where? Where?? WHERE!!!

And then today, we received very curious news that left our friends feeling betrayed.

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June 2020: MUIS Says A&W Not Halal-certified… And They Haven’t Received Any Application

After years of waiting, someone finally asked MUIS directly if A&W is certified.

Then MUIS replied, saying no.

Waalaikumussalam sis! A&W is not Halal-certified. https://t.co/PJYmaObPOD

— halalSG (@halalSG) June 18, 2020

Impossible. Who’s being lazy here? How long more do they need certification?

People asked those questions nicely, of course.

But the answer came as a shock.

Not right now sis.https://t.co/2qtr00kDy4 https://t.co/KSaf3Gnz4Z

— halalSG (@halalSG) June 18, 2020

Heya friends. It seems the news about A&W caught many by surprise.

To clarify – A&W is not Halal-certified, and we are not processing any application at the moment.

— halalSG (@halalSG) June 18, 2020

According to those tweets, this means… A&W hasn’t sent their application?

But wait. The HHWT post says they are already applying. So what the hell?

Or did the mail get lost? Did corona eat the application?

*Goes to Facebook to complain*

A&W posted a menu from 1960 from Washington. “‘Like’ if you remember any of these menu items,” they said.

It seemed like a harmless move.

Wait a minute. Is that pork on the menu?

This left people very confused. Is A&W sending a message wanting to go back to the good old days… with pork?

Others rejoiced. Could this be a hint that A&W is considering the path of the true American taste?

But Wait, Don’t Riot Yet

Last we checked, the A&W menu hasn’t changed since they said their food will be halal.

Which means best-case scenario, A&W is just really busy and halal-certification somehow got delayed.

In fact, MUIS also said that A&W food is technically not halal-certified, but this doesn’t mean you can’t eat. In the end, it’s kind of up to you after you check.

‘Halal-certified’ means that the particular certifying body has done their rounds of checks and audits to ensure that the eatery is indeed Halal compliant.

— halalSG (@halalSG) April 19, 2019

Read through its ingredients on the product packaging to check if it contains high risk ingredients / determine if the eatery deals with high risk ingredients.

— halalSG (@halalSG) July 10, 2019

If it does, it is better to avoid

If you have checked and are absolutely sure that it does not, and you do not have any waswas, then the choice to consume is yours

REMEMBER!

Food consumption is a personal responsibility. You choose what you eat.

— halalSG (@halalSG) July 10, 2019

They also released a long list of FAQ on their Twitter:

Q. What is the difference between Halal and Halal-certified?

A. Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful or permissible. Any food or drink which falls under this category is permitted for Muslim consumption.

— halalSG (@halalSG) April 19, 2019

Hopefully, A&W will give their reply on halal-certification soon.

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