Mr Bean, the local brand that sells soya bean drinks and other snacks, unveiled its bak kwa eggwich on Dec. 18 on Facebook.

You can see it below:

Mistaken for meat

But on Dec. 17, one man in Singapore had already taken a photo of the Mr Bean poster advertising the bak kwa eggwich.

He then imposed the words "Not funny Mr Bean" and "No halal" over the image and shared it to Facebook.

He has since taken down the post.

His photo caption read: "Mr Bean now serve Bak Kwa. Now i kenot enjoy ur pancake?"

You can see it below:

Responses

His post sparked off a flurry of reactions.

As of 3pm on Dec. 18, it garnered over 140 comments and over 1,700 shares.

Some were from other commenters who said they would now stop eating at Mr Bean.

But others pointed out that Mr Bean did not have halal certification in the first place.

And still others noticed a little sign on the picture that seemed to indicate that the bak kwa used in the sandwich was, in fact, vegetarian.

Company's choice whether to obtain halal certification

In follow-up comments, the man who took the photo said that the advertisement could cause confusion.

He added that he would like the food outlet to obtain halal certification.

Mr Bean uses meat ingredients from halal suppliers

In response to Mothership queries, Mr Bean Singapore spokesperson said the company does not use pork, lard or gelatin ingredients.

In fact, it sources its meat ingredients (such as chicken ham) from halal-certified suppliers, although the chain itself has yet to obtain halal certification.

The spokesperson also confirmed that the bak kwa used in this current sandwich is made from vegetarian ingredients, consisting mainly of textured wheat protein, textured soy protein and mushroom fibre.

It will be available until the Chinese New Year season of 2019.

However, obtaining a halal certification from MUIS costs money and time.

Not every food outlet chooses to do so, and MUIS maintains that obtaining halal certification is voluntary.

A commenter replied to the man who took the photo:

Translated, it means: "Does your mother's cooking have halal certification or not?

Related story:

Top image adapted from Facebook and Mr Bean Singapore's Facebook page.