Cookie manufacturer, Byron Bay Cookie Company is dealing with a social media backlash for having their Anzac biscuits certified as halal.
According to SmartCompany, a Facebook page called Boycott Halal in Australia has called for consumers to boycott Byron Bay Cookie Company, and a number of disgruntled consumers have posted comments on the company’s page.
One consumer wrote “I had to refuse to buy my grandchildren yr [sic] cookies yesterday dam [sic] you for being halal ..they were nice and a favorite of my grandchildren.”
Another said “Change your cover pic to an ISIS flag scumbags.”
Others have defended the certification, arguing it’s representative of Australia’s multicultural community. “I can’t think of anything more ‘Australian’ than Halal Anzac Cookies. What an amazing way to show how respectful, multicultural and tolerant Australia really is,” one commenter wrote.
Byron Bay Cookie Company is seeking legal advice and told SmartCompany it had been dealing with a “small but well-orchestrated anti-halal campaign” for the past six to eight months.