Lay's crisps do not contain pork, according to Pakistani food authorities

The one-minute and 23-second video has been viewed more than 6,400 times after it was published here on Facebook on May 31, 2020.

The footage shows a man displaying a pack of Lay’s Masala flavoured crisps and pointing to a halal logo, which certifies products as in adherence to Islamic guidelines. The man then points to an ingredient, a flavouring additive called E631, and searches the additive on his phone to show a website that claims E631 is derived from pork fat. 

“We are being fed this by telling us that it is halal. We are being deceived,” the man says in Urdu.

The post’s Urdu and English caption reads: “Fwd as received. If this is true then these shameless people should be prosecuted.”

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A screenshot taken on June 15, 2020, of the misleading post by Facebook user Kamran Latif

The same video was also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here, here, here, here and here.

The claim is false.

SANHA, a government-approved halal food certification agency in Pakistan, issued a statement refuting the claims, saying E631 is “derived from plant extract of tropica starch”.

“Rumours to the contrary must be shunned,” SANHA’s advisory stated. 

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A screenshot of the halal certification agency advisory on Lay's

Akhtar Bughio, director general of Pakistan's Halal Authority, also told AFP that the E631 additive used in Lay’s crisps adheres to Islamic guidelines. 

During a phone conversation with AFP on June 16, 2020, he said: “SANHA is an accredited organisation to the government of Pakistan and they have verified that E631 used in Lay’s come from plant sources.”

Pepsico Pakistan, the parent company of Lay’s, also denied claims that its products contain pork.

“All ingredients used in Lay's are 100% Halaal, certified by SANHA,” Pepsico Pakistan states here.