Shiok Burger investigating halal certification situation
UPDATE (26 March, 10.30am): Delibowl informed MS News that on 26 Jan 2024, MUIS approved all ingredients, practices and process documentations to amend Delibowl’s active halal certificate to cover Shiok Burger, which operates under the same Singapore Food Agency (SFA) licence and management team. After receiving the approval, the company displayed Shiok Burger as halal. However, it has since removed such representation. You may read the details of the company’s response below.
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On 22 March, former Ria 89.7FM DJ Abdum Karim Sadali, better known as DJ KC, called out local eatery Shiok Burger for falsely claiming it is halal-certified.
When his wife dialled the restaurant, the staff allegedly brushed her away without addressing her queries.
Under the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore’s (MUIS) directory, Shiok Burger is also not listed as a halal-certified establishment.
Restaurant categorised as halal on foodpanda
In a Facebook post on Friday (22 March), DJ KC shared his experience finding out that the eatery was not halal-certified, contrary to its claims.
Source: DJ KC on Facebook
He recounted that when he was searching for food to break fast, he came across Shiok Burger under foodpanda’s Halal menu. He even shared a screenshot of the restaurant’s listing with the category label ‘halal’.
He decided to purchase burgers and fries from the eatery.
Source: DJ KC on Facebook
Before his family could tuck in, his elder son asked if the food was halal.
“Then my hesitation kicked in,” DJ KC wrote.
Found out that Shiok Burger was not Halal-certified
This prompted the DJ to conduct an online search for Shiok Burger. He then found a post on X by @halalSG, which stated that Shiok Burger’s halal logo and claims are not legitimate.
Source: DJ KC on Facebook
His wife also contacted the restaurant directly with her queries. According to DJ KC, the staff claimed that the eatery was halal-certified.
When questioned about the MUIS certification, the staff responded by asking, “What MUIS?” They hung up shortly after.
“Can they claim to be halal when they are not and they can get away scot-free and not be held accountable for deceiving the public?” DJ KC asked.
Restaurant puts up halal logo despite not being recognised by MUIS
On 7 Feb, Shiok Burger announced on Facebook that it had supposedly obtained its halal certification and was looking forward to serving its Muslim customers.
Based on an image uploaded on Google Maps, the eatery displayed a MUIS halal logo at its physical store at Paya Lebar Square that same month.
Source: Google Maps
Another photo uploaded to Google Maps in March, however, showed the logo missing from its spot.
Source: Google Maps
Meanwhile, a search on MUIS’ directory reveals that Shiok Burger is not recognised as a halal-certified eating establishment.
Source: MUIS
MS News has reached out to MUIS for comments.
Never the intention to confuse or mislead customers: Delibowl
In response to MS News’ queries, a spokesperson for Delibowl which operates Shiok Burger emphasised: “It has never been our intention to cause confusion or mislead the Muslim community whom we have served since 2019.”
He pointed out that Delibowl is a halal-compliant and certified company. Shiok Burger, which was carved out of it as a new concept to customers, is managed by the same Delibowl team under a single Singapore Food Agency (SFA) food licence.
Explaining the process the outlet has gone through since last year, the spokesperson said:
We submitted an amendment application to the active Delibowl’s halal certificate with all necessary documentations, as both brands operates under a single SFA licence (Delibowl) and management team.
This meant adding Shiok Burger’s ingredients, menu, floor plan and processes to the active Delibowl halal certificate. Therefore, there won’t be a new halal certificate.
After receiving MUIS’ approval for the application on 26 Jan, the company proceeded to display Shiok Burger as halal compliant. Justifying this decision, the spokesperson noted: “This process aligns with past practices when we introduced Delibowl’s menu to Nuodle at Our Tampines Hub. ”
Shiok Burger has since removed all representation of halal compliance at its outlet to prevent further miscommunication whilst awaiting MUIS’ response.
Describing the events that have transpired as “an unfortunate situation”, the spokesperson shared that Delibowl is communicating with MUIS to understand and rectify the matter. He added:
Please know that the Muslim community holds a special place within Delibowl, and we deeply value your trust and patronage. It was never our intention to mislead our customers, and we are committed to resolving this matter promptly and transparently. Once again, we extend our sincerest apologies for any confusion or concern caused by this situation.
Delibowl will inform MS News if there are any new developments.
Also read: Forged Halal Certificates Purportedly Issued To 2 Businesses, MUIS Reports Matter To The Police
Forged Halal Certificates Purportedly Issued To 2 Businesses, MUIS Reports Matter To The Police
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and DJ KC on Facebook.
