It seems that KK Super Mart can’t catch a break. Last year, the convenience store franchise came under fire over an incident involving socks that had the word ‘Allah’ written on them. The brand has since apologised and promised to conduct more thorough checks before placing products on its shelves.
Unfortunately, KK Super Mart has been subjected to even more scrutiny recently after customers claimed that they had found sandwiches that contained pork despite a halal sticker on them. Here’s what happened:
For context, Umno Youth Chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh called out KK Super Mart for allegedly selling Ham and Cheese sandwiches at the franchise’s concept stores at Universiti Malaya (UM). The case went viral after customers posted photos of the products online last week. Police were then called to investigate the sale of the products, which was reported to have a halal sticker on the packaging.
“Ham contains pork and the sandwich was sold at UM, where the majority of the community is Malay. We can understand if it’s only sold to non-Malay but why is there a halal logo on the packaging?” said the politician. Following reports made by UM students, the university decided to shut down two of its 24-hour KK Mart concept stores.
KK Super Mart issued a statement to clarify that the supplier, Shake And Bake Café Sdn Bhd, was the one that provided the halal certificate for the chicken ham and cheese layer sandwiches. However, they were not authorised to use the ‘KK Super Mart’ logo on the packaging. As a result, the company decided to suspend its business with the supplier and file a report against them. KK Super Mart emphasised that it takes the issue seriously and will take all the appropriate steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Meanwhile, the Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) also confirmed that the products did not have a verified halal certification and that Shake And Bake Café Sdn Bhd “is not a Malaysia halal certificate (SPHM) holder”. The improper use of the SPHM halal logo on products is a violation of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 and the Trade Descriptions (Halal Certification and Marking) Order 2011.
As for Shake And Bake Café Sdn Bhd, the company has yet to issue a statement regarding the controversy. It seems that KK Super Mart will need to work even harder to regain customers’ trust after this latest incident.
