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.”
After the message went viral, iD Fresh Foods issued an official statement dismissing it as fake, saying that the WhatsApp forward about the use of animal extracts in products is “misleading, false and baseless.”
Here is the full statement by iD Fresh Foods:
“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."
iD Fresh Foods was founded in Bengaluru in the year 2005 and their products are now sold in many locations including Mysuru, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Chennai, Ernakulam, Coimbatore, Cochin, and abroad as well, in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The Bengaluru-based company started operations in 2005, and is present across over 45 markets. Earlier this year, the company launched the largest idli and dosa batter preparation and packaging plant in Anekal, Karnataka, with an investment of Rs 40 crore.
Earlier, the company said it has been awarded certifications from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Jaivik Bharat, under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). iD has also been awarded the Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 for its manufacturing plants in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Dubai, after undergoing a comprehensive audit by the Foundation for Food Safety Certification.