Why some Woolies BBQ chickens are in black plastic bags revealed

Social media is buzzing with the realisation some BBQ chickens at Woolworths are being sold in black bags. Here’s why.

One of Woolworths’ most popular items is now available to more customers than ever before.

Some Woolworths BBQ roast chickens are now being sold in black bags, signifying that they are halal, in a handful of stores.

Halal refers to meat prepared in a way that is accordance with Muslim law.

One social media user, known on TikTok as @qzhapache22, took to the platform to share an “alert to all Muslims”.

Woolies sells halal BBQ roast chickens. Picture: TikTok

The social media user then showed the black chicken bags with the sticker that keeps the bag sealed signifying they were halal.

“Roast chicken in black bags is halal, make sure you check.”

Woolworths confirmed that was indeed the case.

“Our Woolworths hot roast chicken has always been a customer favourite,” a Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au.

“At select stores in areas with a large Muslim community, we also offer a Halal certified hot roast chicken so it can be enjoyed by more of our customers.”

The chickens, which is priced the same as the supermarket’s regular roast chickens, was first introduced in 2019 at Woolworths Roselands, in Sydney’s south west.

Woolworths first introduced the halal chickens in 2019. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

It has since expanded to stores in Bass Hill, Auburn, Roselands, Lakemba, Bankstown and Granville.

However, social media users were sceptical about how halal the chickens actually were with some speculating it was cooked in the same over as other items such as pork belly.

One social media user said: “Technically they’re not. They are cooked in the same oven as pork and beef. They also can’t be separated from non-halal products in the oven.”

But social media users who claimed to work at Woolworths disagreed.

“That’s also halal. I work in Woolies and they cook chicken in separate oven always,” the social media user said.

News.com.au understands the halal chicken is cooked in a separate oven.