Fresh food brand iD Fresh is the latest victim of an incendiary and communal WhatsApp forward, which claimed that the company 'mixes cow bones and calf rennet' to make the volume of its batter.
iD Fresh Foods, a Bengaluru-based company, is known best for selling its idli and dosa batter. The company’s statement says that the WhatsApp forward is “misleading, false and baseless” and the company has clarified that it uses only vegetarian ingredients to make its products.
The WhatsApp forward that has gone viral takes on a communal colour, claiming that the company “only hires Muslims” and is “halal certified,” and the only basis for this was that it is founded by PC Musthafa and his four cousins Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK and Noushad TA. The forward added a link about the company’s fundraising announcement in 2014 when it raised Rs 35 crore, claiming it was the country’s first V-C deal to “adhere to strict Shariah Islamic Law.”
The company said:
“Some consumers have received a WhatsApp forward message carrying misleading, false and baseless information about iD using animal extracts in its products. Since the intensity of misinformation being spread is high this time around, we thought we should issue an official statement,” iD Fresh Foods has said.
“We would like to clearly specify that iD uses only vegetarian ingredients to make its products, iD Idly Dosa Batter is made from rice, urad dal, fenugreek and RO water only, which are 100% natural and vegetarian agri-commodities. There are no animal extracts used in any of our products,” ID Fresh Foods said in the statement.
“We proudly manufacture healthy and authentic Indian products with no chemicals or preservatives inside our world-class, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that fully comply with the Food Safety Management System,” the statement added.
“Such baseless and fake propaganda is unfortunate and it undermines the trust of millions of ID customers."