Expert urges tighter control of 'halal' food

Expert urges tighter control of 'halal' food

JAKARTA (JP): Importing countries should tighten controls on
incoming food labeled halal (allowed under Islamic law) to verify
the authenticity, an American Islamic organization executive said
on Monday.

President of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America
(IFANCA) Muhammad Munir Chaudry said there was no guarantee that
products were lawful according to Islamic law even if they were
certified as allowed.

"The halal certificate can be issued by anybody. It's the role
of the importing countries to examine the certificates, how they
were issued and who the issuing institutions were," Chaudry told
reporters after a seminar on international halal certification
held by the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) at Hilton Hotel in
Central Jakarta.

"Every certificate is a document which you can trace back down
to the slaughterhouse."

Chaudry was commenting on allegedly haram (unlawful under
Islamic law) imported chicken thighs from the Unites States,
which were categorized as dark meat or remnant cuts.

About 200 tons of dark meat have been imported monthly since
earlier this year. They were then distributed to several big
cities here.

Chaudry said halal certificates could be issued by anybody in
the U.S. because, unlike in Australia and New Zealand, the U.S.
government did not want to be involved in the issuance of such
certificates.

"The U.S. government's guideline is that meat can be labeled
as halal if it is certified by a recognized Islamic organization.

"But the process for the issuance of halal certificates is
unclear. There is no information on the Islamic organization
which issued the certificates."

Reluctance

He said providing the certification was a business in the
U.S., and companies could obtain it through paying US$400 to $500
per shipping container.

"Companies are usually reluctant to meet all the requirements
for acquiring the certificates, including a requirement that
animals should be slaughtered by Muslims," he said.

"It will cost them more as they must hire Muslims to slaughter
the animals."

Separately, the director of the Research Institute for Food,
Drugs and Cosmetics of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (LPPOM-
MUI), Aisjah Girindra, said the Ministry of Agriculture was the
institution with the authority to check on imports of halal-
certified food.

"We have no authority to directly check the food. Regarding
the imported chicken issue, we have summoned the companies which
imported the chicken thighs. They promised that they would follow
the regulation but we don't know the reality," she said.

Asking whether MUI would release fatwa (a binding ruling on
religious matters), Aisjah said the action would be considered.

She said LPPOM-MUI held data on companies which imported
nonallowed food, but declined to mention the number.

Aisjah told participants of the seminar, which was attended by
Islamic organizations from the U.S., Australia, the Netherlands,
South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore, of the importance of
establishing a world halal food council.

"We need to standardize all halal certification procedures
which must meet the Islamic law requirements as laid down in the
Holy Koran and in line with shariah (Islamic law)," she said.

"Indonesia would like to be the hosting secretariat of the
council." (ind)