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The authors welcome the debate hosted by the British Food Journal on the likely size of the outbreak of New Variant CJD, if it is caused by eating BSE‐contaminated beef. We are pleased that there is a substantial measure of agreement between our estimates and those of Ferguson et al., for the most likely number of deaths, even if there is disagreement on the upper bound. We note that our low predictions for vCJD deaths based on vCJD data to the end of 1997 continue to be borne out by figures available at the time of writing, one year later.

In response to a paper published in a previous issue of British Food Journal, it criticises the methodology of the previous research. Examines the earlier findings on the projected epidemic size of the new variant of Creutzfeldt‐Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. Argues that the earlier research is flawed and there exists no data which can provide adequate predictions for the extent of the vCJD epidemic.

There is paucity of research on the significant criteria that non-Muslims consider when purchasing halal cosmetics. Consequently, this paper aims to apply the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM) to investigate the effects of subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioural control (PBC), halal certification and health consciousness on attitude; as well as the impact of attitude on promoting the intention to purchase halal cosmetic products among non-Muslims.

Data collection involved the use of a web-based survey of 238 non-Muslim respondents that are resident in Malaysia, a south east Asian country reputed for being the global hub for halal products. The proposed model was evaluated using Smart PLS 3.3.5.

According to the structural model results, halal certification, health consciousness and SN have significant relationships with attitude. In addition, there are significant relationships between attitude, health consciousness, SN and the intention to purchase halal cosmetic products. In contrast, there is no correlation between halal certification, PBC and intention to purchase halal cosmetics. Furthermore, attitude significantly mediates the relationships between halal certification, SN, health consciousness and intention to purchase halal cosmetics. However, attitude did not significantly fulfil the role of a mediator in the relationship between PBC and intention to purchase halal cosmetic products.

The study findings provide valuable insights to companies targeting non-Muslim markets. The study findings contend how halal cosmetic production/marketing companies may customize their marketing activities based on social and health perspectives, thereby increasing the consumers’ social expectations and confidence in halal cosmetics production standards and guaranteeing safety to influence their attitudes and quickly penetrate the new market for non-Muslim consumers who make a relatively unexplored population.