No Halal For Hong Kong McDonald's, KFC or Pizza Hut

There will be no halal in Hong Kong outlets of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), MacDonald's or Pizza Hut in spite of some heavy duty lobbying by Hong Kong's Mufti Muhammad Arshad.

Arshad said he sent letters to the fast-food chains, but McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut all said that they had no plans to introduce halal meat in their outlets. But Arshad said it would be only a matter of time before they signed up, as McDonald's and KFC served halal food in other Asian markets, such as Singapore.

Halal certification of restaurants began in Singapore in the mid-1990s. Singaporean food blogger Daniel Ang says that the likes of Le Steak, a new halal steakhouse in the Jalan Kayu district, has been "packing the crowds in" at the weekends. In Hong Kong there are already halal outlets at Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park.

"It's disappointing that we could not convince the companies," Arshad said. "It doesn't have to be Hong Kong-wide. In the main areas, like Central, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui, the New Territories and at the airport, it would be a great service. The companies have to realise there is a need for this and that it is good business for them."

With a population of about 7 million people, 250,000 or so are Muslim.

Arshad is right. They probably will eventually cave, for the bottom line.

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