A TAKEAWAY restaurant will start serving halal pizzas in an attempt to bring in more Muslim customers.

Domino’s Pizza, Whalley New Road, Roe Lee, Blackburn, has secured accreditation from the Halal Food Authority (HFA) in a bid to widen its appeal to residents in the town.

Franchisee of the Blackburn store, Slawomir Szulc, said the move towards halal pizzas was vital if the takeaway was going to have a viable future.

He said: “I am delighted to be opening a 100 per cent halal Domino’s Pizza store to better serve the needs of local residents.

“The store originally opened in October 2005 and has never performed particularly well.

"We realised that we needed to widen our appeal and target the local Muslim community.

“We tried adding in some additional pork-free toppings, but this still did not stimulate the business, potentially forcing us to close permanently.

“But, after further consideration, we chose to go all the way and reopen as a 100 per cent halal store.”

Domino’s has worked closely with the HFA, the UK’s leading accreditation authority for halal food, which has examined every stage of the pizza-making process.

The HFA also explores where ingredients are sourced from to how they are stored and prepared, ensuring Domino’s meets its strict criteria.

Masood Khawaja, president of the HFA, added: “We have been delighted to jobs" target="_blank">work with Domino’s to create this halal store.

“Our team has been extremely impressed by the company’s commitment to halal.”

The menu includes halal spicy beef, roast and tandoori chicken, halal pepperoni and halal cured turkey – all produced and stored within the HFA’s strict guidelines.