Those planning to celebrate their birthdays at McDonald's must make sure that the birthday cakes they bring in are certified halal.

The fast food chain said this is to adhere to its halal certification requirements.

"As a company that offers only halal-certified products, we implement a 'no outside food policy' to ensure that all products served and consumed at our restaurants are halal.

"In the case of birthday parties at McDonald's we have made an exception to allow customers to bring in their own birthday cakes as part of their celebration, provided that the cakes are certified halal.

"This condition is critical to preserve the integrity of our halal certification," McDonald's Malaysia said in a statement to Malaysiakini.

Halal certification is not compulsory for food outlets in Malaysia, but many major food operators seek to be certified to attract Muslim customers.

Halal certifications are issued by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) after stringent checks of ingredients, processes and practices.

In June, Jakim issued a statement assuring that McDonald's Malaysia is certified halal after a hoax message claiming otherwise went viral.

Pretzel chain Auntie Anne's caught international headlines this year after Jakim among others told the chain to rename its "pretzel dog" product in order to obtain halal certification.

This is to adhere to the requirement that no halal product is named after non-halal items like dog, ham or beer.

Auntie Anne's changed the name of its product to "pretzel sausage".