Krispy Kreme Singapore: Halal or Not?

Okay so we had a little bit of confusion the past week or so and it all has to do with one of the biggest brand names (in terms of food) to hit Singapore shores in quite awhile.

Everyone was super excited when the news broke that Krispy Kreme was finally going to open in Singapore after what seemed like an endless wait. But the question remained... would it be certified Halal?

The Halal Food Blog checked directly with Krispy Kreme via their Facebook page and the great news was that they were definitely intending to apply for Halal certification. At that point, opening day was still really far away so it was just a waiting game.

When the big day finally came, we heard the crowd was massive!
But thankfully, the crowd did lessen (somewhat) and when we visited Krispy Kreme about a week ago, there was a queue but thankfully it wasn't that bad.

Not so bad right the queue?

Yes the bright lights at the far end are the counter by the way.
But surprisingly, the wait wasn't even that long. Thanks to the speedy workers at the counters, we reached the counter about 15 minutes after we joined in.

While in the queue, I asked one of the staff if they were already Halal. After all, best to hear it from the horse's mouth am I right? And the staff replied "Yes. All Halal".
Great news right?

About 2 days ago, I noticed on my Twitter feed that quite a number of people had inquired with the ever-popular @HalalSG (which is administrated by MUIS apparently) and the same question so many people asked was if Krispy Kreme was certified Halal.

And the response was always "Krispy Kreme has yet to submit any Halal applications"

So what exactly was going on here? I've got Krispy Kreme admin and staff telling me Halal and yet some people are saying it's not Halal and not even applications submitted? Hmmmmm......

So we decided it was time to set things straight once and for all rather then hear things from so many sources all over the place.

So we sent a message directly to Krispy Kreme again via their Facebook page and waited for a response.
People deserved to know the full story especially since so many different versions were flying around.

So they thankfully replied quite speedily.

So here is the story as we know it as of now;

1. The Krispy Kreme outlet at Tangs Orchard has not yet been certified Halal. This is because they could only submit an application 2 weeks after opening. So this means that Halal certification of the Tangs Orchard outlet should be on its way soon.
2. The ingredients used in making Krispy Kreme doughnuts are certified as Halal by an overseas body which is recognized by MUIS. The process of certifying in SG by MUIS is currently underway.
3. The kitchen where the Krispy Kreme products (i.e. yummy delicious doughnuts) are prepared has already been certified Halal by MUIS (with certificate issued).

And thanks to our valued readers, we also discovered the reason why people kept saying/hearing that no applications had been received from Krispy Kreme for Halal certification.

Apparently, the whole Krispy Kreme franchise in Singapore is being managed by a company called 'Manna 360' and the applications were submitted under this name instead of 'Krispy Kreme'.
And after reading so much about it on the @HalalSG Twitter feed, we also saw that Krispy Kreme responded directly so explain the situation;

So sorry for all the confusion folks.

I guess the good news is that Halal certification is just a matter of time away and we just have to be patient for the certificate to be hung on the wall at the Tangs Orchard outlet. And for some who responded to us privately, I guess the information provided so far is enough reason to start eating already.

Well, whatever your decision dear readers, it's always at our own discretion :)
All we can say is - it's just a matter of time.

Look out for our review of the Krispy Kreme doughnuts including the much-talked about Red Velvet!
(Once they have announced official Halal certification of course)
But if you really cannot tahan, then read about the Krispy Kreme we had in KL at the following link;

http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2013/06/kl-sedap-part-7-krispy-kreme.html