A viral screenshot of a webpage, purportedly one of confectioner Cadbury, is being shared on social media, which mentions that gelatine used in their products is "halal certified and derived from beef."
Users are sharing the screenshot and calling for a boycott of the brand claiming that by using beef-derived gelatine, the brand has hurt Hindu sentiments.
However, the screenshot in question is from an older version of the brand's Australian website.
The same claim had gone viral in 2021 as well, after which the website was updated to include "Australian" in its text.
Moreover, the brand also issued a clarification in 2021, stating that all of its products made in India were "100 percent vegetarian," and that the "green dot on the wrapper signifies" the same.
CLAIM
Several social media users are sharing a screenshot of confectionary brand Cadbury's website with the hashtag 'BoycottCadbury', which shows text reading –
"Please note, if any of our products contain gelatine in the ingredients, the gelatine we use is halal certified and derived from beef.
The listed products represent the equivalent "mini" variants found in CADBURY FAVOURITES variety packs."
An archive of this tweet can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Using relevant keywords, we looked for more information regarding Cadbury's halal certification and use of gelatine in its products.
The search led us to a Twitter reply by Cadbury Dairy Milk's verified handle, where it responded to a similar allegation made by journalist and right-wing commentator Madhu Purnima Kishwar on 18 July 2021.
The company said that the the screenshot was not related to "Mondelez products manufactured in India," and that all of their products manufactured and sold in India are 100% vegetarian.
The company clarified that screenshot was not related to Indian products.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
The company had issued a statement on Twitter regarding the controversy on the same day, informing consumers that the screenshot was not related to its products in India. It requested users to "please verify facts" before sharing the post further.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) mandates the use of differently coloured dots in squares to denote whether a product is vegetarian, contains eggs, or is non-vegetarian.
Its 'Packaging and Labelling Regulations' state that "every package of Vegetarian food shall bear a declaration to this effect," with a symbol of "a green colour filled circle" which should be inside a "square with green outline."
WHAT ABOUT THE SCREENSHOT?
A simple keyword search led us to Cadbury Australia's website, where we saw similar text under the 'Halal' section here.
We took a screenshot of this page on a smartphone (since the screenshot in the claim is vertical and was taken from one), and compared it to the one in the claim.
Here, we saw that the website had one word added to it, and reads, "...our Australian products contain gelatine."
The website specifies 'Australian products.'
(Source: Twitter/Cadbury Australia/Altered by The Quint)
However, as the claim was viral in 2021 as well, we looked for archived versions of the website and found that on 17 July 2021, the page did not contain the specific mention of Australia and resembled the screenshot in the claim.
Moreover, we came across news reports from 2021, such as one by Mint, which addressed the claims made and Cadbury's response to the screenshot from 2021. The report also mentioned that the screenshot was taken from the company's Australian website.
The Quint has contacted a representative of the company and will update this article with a response as and when it is received.
Evidently, a screenshot of an old version of Cadbury's Australian website is being shared by Indian social media users, who are calling for the brand's boycott on religious grounds.
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