India Drafts Halal Meat Certification Guidelines

The Commerce Ministry of India has issued draft guidelines for the export of halal-certified meat and meat products. To meet the requirements, the products must be produced, processed, and packaged under a valid certificate issued by a certification body accredited by the Quality Council of India. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has proposed guidelines to streamline the certification process and has appointed the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority as the nodal agency for the purpose. These draft guidelines are open for public and industry feedback until February 17.

Aiming to streamline the halal certification process for the export of meat and meat products from India, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has proposed draft guidelines on halal certification for the export of meat and meat products.

The guidelines state that the certification bodies will follow the procedure laid down in the Indian Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS) – Halal.

It added that the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) would be appointed as the nodal agency for the purpose.

“All meat and meat products shall be exported as ‘Halal certified’ only if produced, processed, and packed under a valid certificate issued by a certification body duly accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), Quality Council of India,” the draft guidelines state.

These draft guidelines are being circulated for comments and feedback from the public/industry. Comments can be sent by 17 February for collation and preparation of the final guidelines.

To streamline the certification of meat and meat products as halal from the country, a scheme called the ‘India Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS)’ has been developed.