France: KFC and poultry producer face halal scandal

France: KFC and poultry producer face halal scandal

Update: Rephrasing, based on comments.

While the attention of the news services is focused on British KFC halal claims, a more serious scandal is brewing in France.

The French Al-Kanz blog reports as follows:

In October 2009, French newspaper Libération reported that the M6 TV channel decided to suppressed a bombshell report. An investigation into fast-food restaurants had shown that McDonald's do not keep hygienic standards and that KFC is falsely claiming to be selling halal chicken.

The big fast-food chains pressured the channel, and the report was never broadcast. At the Halal Expo, Al-Kanz interviewed a journalist at M6, who said that they censored the report due to pressure from their advertisers, mainly McDonald's.

French Muslims started grumbling, and KFC therefore turned to supermarket giant Casino for help, as Casino already have reputation in the halal market. It should be mentioned that Casino decided to end their contract with Doux in February 2009. This means all Doux poultry were removed from the shelves.

Meanwhile Sophie Verneyt of Rue89 decided to investigate the story, looking not only at KFC but also at their supplier, Doux, the biggest poultry producer in Europe. She couldn't find anything, though she thought that KFC's claims weren't very convincing.

The report suppressed by M6 appeared last week on the TV show Télérama. As can be seen, while KFC claimed their chickens were halal and that they were slaughtered by a Muslim, Doux, the poultry provider, told the journalist that their chickens were slaughtered just like any other.

KFC: Our chicken is halal

Doux: KFC chicken is killed like all other chickens

Al-Kanz report this could be catastrophic for KFC and Doux. KFC is very popular among Muslim consumers. The reports of KFC not being truly halal hit KFC more than Doux, but since there was no conclusive evidence either way, both companies didn't suffer much. Also, Doux export to the Middle East, and they would suffer a significant drop in revenue if they would lose that market.

Via: Al-Kanz 1, 2 (French)