Pepsi’s Lays has finally decided to counter the pig fat controversy. Their response was three-pronged. First they came out with a print campaign which included a a strip ad right on the front page of Dawn which says that Lays comply with the Shariat Council requirements and are therefore 100% Halal.
But the print campaign didn’t’ address the root cause of the controversy- the E631 chemical found in the Masala flavor which is supposed to be made from animal fat. The ad is pretty vague as far as this point is concerned. The print ad should definitely have mentioned this, and then the online version would have delved into the intricacies of this compound and why it isn’t Haram in detail. Many people, including want to believe that these chips they have come to relish are really Halal, they just need the official assurance that they are. But just saying that they are after all the hue and cry isn’t going to solve the problem. Get to the core of the problem. Continue Reading…