Malaysian chicken sausage producer holds valid halal certification and is not 'pig farming' business
"Manufactured by Leong Hup, the largest pig farmer in Malacca," reads Malay-language text below the image. "Impressed with the name.. the brand is 'Rahmat', the label is green in colour, the whole thing looks Islamic. But checking the factory again, turns out it is not a Muslim product," the text continues.
About two-thirds of Malaysia's 34 million population are Muslims who must observe strict halal dietary standards, which prohibit pork, alcohol and other meat that has not been slaughtered according to Islamic rites (archived link).
Concern over halal food certification has frequently sparked debate in the country -- often with accusations levelled against non-Muslim companies -- and AFP has debunked similar claims targeting other products such as cooking oil, bubble tea and even international coffee chain Starbucks.
The claim targeting Rahmat brand chicken sausage was also shared in a Facebook group with more than 141,000 members, as well as elsewhere on the platform here and here.
However, the claims are unfounded -- Google keyword searches found Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) refuted them on Facebook in December 2019 (archived link).
A JAKIM spokesperson confirmed on February 10 that the 2019 statement remained valid.
JAKIM explained in its post that Leong Hup Agrobusiness manufactures the sausages as part of an agreement to make the product on behalf of another company, Mantap Eksklusif. The brand is named after its director, Rahmat bin Ibrahim.
"The brand name 'Rahmat' and the green packaging is based on an agreement between the owners and operators of Mantap Eksklusif.
"Leong Hup Agrobusiness, a commercial company under Leong Hup (Malaysia), is a subsidiary of Leong Hup International, which has no connections at all to pig farming," the statement said.
The agency repeated the clarification in another Facebook post published in November 2023 (archived link).
Further keyword searches found that Leong Hup International is in fact a Malaysia-based company mainly producing poultry, eggs and livestock feed (archived link).
The database of Halal Malaysia, the government agency responsible for the certification, also shows the product's halal certification is valid at least until August 2026 (archived links here and here).
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