KUALA LUMPUR: Food outlets in Muslim-majority Malaysia must rename hotdogs or risk being refused halal certification, a government religious authority said yesterday.

The ruling, which also includes other food items whose name includes the word "dog", has garnered much ridicule on social media. It follows complaints by Muslim tourists from overseas, said Sirajuddin Suhaimee, director of the halal division from the Department of Islamic Development.

"In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification," he said. US pretzel chain Aunty Anne's, which has 45 outlets in Malaysia with plans to expand further, told AFP it has no qualms about renaming its pretzel dogs.