We called JAKIM to check whether Starbucks is Halal

So, we just got wind from Jom Check of a WhatsApp message that’s being forwarded around right now, claiming that Starbucks & Coffee Bean have been “certified haram” by JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia):

The message goes on to say that the F&B giants are using multiple ingredients that are either derived from pork or contains alcohol, namely:

• Emulsifier 471 & mono diglycerides in chocolate, vanilla & coffee drink
• Cherries dipped in an unspecified alcohol, and rum in their tiramisu cakes

Quite the bold claim, and we hope no one who received this message actually believed it, cuz…

JAKIM themselves told us Starbucks & Coffee Bean are still halal

Just like the time my therapist told me I wasn’t schizophrenic, this message is FAKE NEWS. And it’s not new fake news, either; this exact same message has been reported as a hoax at least four times before, with the message first appearing in 2016 (as far as we can tell).

If you don’t believe us, y’all can hear it from the horse’s mouth – we gave JAKIM a call, and they extremely nice when they were responding to us. They insisted that these claims of Starbucks & Coffee bean being haram “memang tak sahih” (are not legit), and confirmed that both companies are still valid holders of halal certification.

And there we have it. We know most of y’all won’t believe everything to see but hey, some of y’all might have relatives that are more prone to doing that, so if they tell you Starbucks & Coffee bean tak halal, y’all can show them this article. Sekian.

Cilisos is part of the Malaysian fact-checking alliance JomCheck.

Through JomCheck, Malaysians can submit requests to fact-check a claim by sending a WhatsApp message to the tipline at 017-477 6659 (WhatsApp text only, no calls) or via this link.