A HUNGRY Jack's restaurant owner is being grilled after claims he falsely advertised the chain was selling halal food.

The franchise-owned store in Tullamarine is being investigated by the head office of Hungry Jack's for misleading customers after it was given the go-ahead to advertise its chicken and beef burgers from official halal food inspectors.

The store, on Mickleham Rd, gained halal certification from the Islamic Coordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV) last month, the Hume Leader reports.

ICCV administration manager Sidki Guzem said a halal food inspector visited the outlet, then made recommendations to the council to approve its certification.

As a result, the restaurant was given the all-clear to start advertising its halal meat to consumers on December 31.

The term halal is used to outline food that can be consumed according to Islamic law.

But confusion remains in the Muslim community about whether the food was in fact halal.

Hungry Jack’s Australia chief executive Aaron McKie said halal-certified items have never been available from any of their restaurants.

“No halal product was supplied to the restaurant by any of Hungry Jack’s approved suppliers,” he said.

“The company is still trying to establish the chain of events which led to the ICCV awarding an halal certificate to the restaurant."

But Tullamarine franchisee Nicholas Raptis said he had not misled customers in any way.

“I do buy all my products from Hungry Jack’s and am proud to be a Hungry Jack’s store owner,” he said.

“We supply all the food Hungry Jack’s supply.”

Hungry Jack’s has asked the franchisee to explain how the certification was obtained.

Read more at the Hume Leader