Cinema snack counters in Singapore aren't halal-certified: Muis
None of the snack bars in cinemas in Singapore are certified as halal (permissible in Islam), according to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis)
Through the halalSG Twitter account, which is its official account on halal food and certification queries, Muis said it has yet to receive any Halal applications from cinema snack bars.
Hi Dinah. We’ve yet to receive any Halal applications from any snack bars in cinemas, hence none of them are Halal-certified. Hope this clarifies! https://t.co/7L1tItHnPs
— halalSG (@halalSG) September 6, 2018
The tweet was in response to a query posted to the halalSG account that asked: “Is the food at Golden Village Cinemas halal? Especially like the meatballs and hotdogs.”
According to The New Paper, Muis has confirmed that it had not received applications from cinemas for halal certification.
Application for halal certification for a snack bar costs $759.70 including GST for a period of one year, according to the Muis website.
Some moviegoers’ views
Sathiya, a 30-year-old executive, told Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore: “All four cinema chains should provide halal certified food for all moviegoers. It’s important to address your customers’ requirements to show that your business takes into consideration the minority. Subway has already paved its way to be inclusive by changing its menu. I’m pretty sure the four cinema chains can follow suit.”
She added: “It wouldn’t be feasible for cinemas to allow food from other places as this would also mean anyone can bring durians into the movies.”
Alex A, 35, felt that the issue affected a small number of people. “Out of thousands of religious people who go to the cinema, only this vocal minority wants to create an issue out of it. I don’t see Hindus asking about beef.”
In 2014, some Cathay cinemas did have halal snack bars, but the certification was left to expire the following year.
Related stories:
Subway Singapore stops serving pork at all outlets
Subway outlets across Singapore (except for one) are officially halal-certified
