Popular Australian bakery chain Pie Face is in hot water after being caught out selling “halal-certified” pastries that contained pork, as well as cooking other products in a manner considered “haram”, according to Islamic authorities.
The Australian reported that Pie Face sold pork and fennel sausage rolls as “halal-certified” and a breakfast pie containing bacon.
In addition, the chain listed a Wagyu beef pie, which contains small amounts of alcohol from brandy essence, as halal in an allergen chart sent to outlets in February.
Other pies and sausage rolls claimed to be halal were baked in the same ovens as pastries containing pork products, which is forbidden under Islamic dietary codes prescribed in the Qur’an.
Following the allegations, Pie Face has been slammed by outraged customers and described as “an abomination to all observant Muslims”.
Sydney lawyer Stewart Levitt of Levitt Robinson Solicitors has alleged in a complaint to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that the sale of ostensibly halal pies from United Petroleum service stations and Pie Face outlets amounts to misleading and deceptive conduct.
He said Muslims who bought the pies in good faith would be horrified they had unwittingly gone against their faith: “They will be mortified by the knowledge that haram (forbidden) Pie Face pies have been sold as halal.”
Pie Face is owned by Australian petrol giant United Petroleum, with its chief executive David Szymczak admitting the company was aware of the errors in a statement.
“United have recently become aware of some errors in the Pie Face Allergen Chart on display which identified product as being halal that was not, in some of its stores and in its internal point of sale programming information,” Mr Szymczak said.
“Upon being alerted to these errors, these charts were immediately removed from stores and rectified.”
COMMENTS