Fact Check

Tim Hortons Removes Pork to Appease Muslims

An unverified claim that Tim Hortons was removing pork from its menu to appease Muslims was later labeled as "satire."

Published May 2, 2016

 (Ian Rutherford/Flickr)
Image Via Ian Rutherford/Flickr
Claim:
Canadian chain Tim Hortons is removing pork from its menu to appease offended Muslim customers.

On 29 April 2016, the web site Conservative Fans published an article reporting that Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons would stop selling pork items at the behest of Muslim customers:

Tim Hortons has made a shocking announcement and has removed ham and bacon from almost 4,600 locations, and switched to halal meat alternatives in an attempt to please its Muslim customers.

It has confirmed turkey ham and turkey rashers will be used instead in 3,500 of its stores, where all the meat will now be prepared according to halal rules.

The chain, which has around 4,600 outlets across the Canada and US, explained its decision by saying it had to balance animal welfare concerns with ‘the views of religious communities’.

This has not been confirmed by any news outlets yet as to protect it’s customers.

Later, the following was tacked on to the end of the article:

DISCLAIMER: This article was submitted an unknown and anonymous source therefore we cannot confirm it’s credibility and will label it as satire as we cannot confirm the source.

No such news had been announced by any Tim Hortons restaurants, either in the U.S. or Canada. The chain's site featured a menu on which pork products appeared among breakfast and lunch options. Given that even the source of the claim finally labeled the story "satire," it is clear that no such announcement (either furtively or openly) was made by the chain.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.