Print this articleEmail this articleAmerican investor-philanthropist Warren Buffet is quoted to have said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."

In the digital age, it takes less than five seconds to ruin a reputation. The gravepine reaches far and wide on the World Wide Web; especially now that almost everyone is on Facebook.

QBI Packaging Sdn Bhd (based in Malaysia) and Singapore-based QBB Pte Ltd, manufacturer and distributor of a much-loved cooking product QBB Pure Ghee is the latest casualties of this super-efficient rumour mill.

The news that Jakim (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, Malaysia's halal certification body), has suspended QBB Pure Ghee's halal certificate due to an unidentified "foreign substance" has been disseminated widely over the Internet since June. This "foreign substance" is thought to be lard or pork fat.

The Brunei Times was recently alerted of this alarming piece of information by one of our reporters who had come across it in a Facebook discussion.

"Alarming" because just like Nestlé's popular powdered beverage Milo and its instant noodle commonly known as "Maggi Mee", generations of Bruneians (including Malaysians and Singaporeans) grew up consuming food with QBB Pure Ghee as an essential ingredient.

A large number of these consumers comprise Muslims who are very particular about the halal status of their food and drink. For Muslims, "You are what you eat." Muslims believe that consuming non-halal food has wide repercussions, especially in terms of one's aqidah or faith.

It is safe to say that QBB Pure Ghee is one product that contemporary Malay/Muslim culture can't do without! The nasi minyak served at Malay weddings are cooked with this clarified butter and many cookies and cakes served during the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri also use QBB Pure Ghee. Some say their recipes would not be complete without it. It must be QBB Pure Ghee or their cakes and cookies won't taste the same!

A consumer who identified herself as "Lina" posted a query on QBB's website (www.qbbghee.com) on August 28: "I think QBB Ghee is the best ghee and it saddens me that I can't use it anymore. If you claim that there is no lard/pork substance, can you please do something to counter the allegation. What is the unknown substance?"

QBB has responded to queries with statements by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and Muis (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura), Singapore's Islamic Religious Council. On its website, QBB emphasised that its product, made from the milkfat of Australia's Dairy Cows, has been certified halal "for more than 50 years".

QBB said the accusation is malicious and can be traced to a letter sent in April this year by one Mohd Kadir bin Mohd Karim (I/C No. 601223-10-6157) to the CEO of AVA, Tan Poh Hong. QBB's lawyers discovered that the name and IC number did not match and are currently pursuing investigations. In an email correspondence dated June 17 to QBB's representative Lim Peck Bin, Muis confirmed that QBB Pure Ghee is halal and its Jakim certification expires February 15, 2012.

Reputation is also a matter of perception. The saga continues.