Halal Standards

KARACHI: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the international body representing all Muslim countries of the world took the initiative to establish Halal standards throughout the world, Halal Association of Pakistan (HAP) General Secretary Asad Sajjad said on Monday.

“OIC has given the mandate to Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) to introduce a Halal standard that would be acceptable to all Muslim sects, ie, Hanafi, Shaafa’i, Maliki, Humbly, and Jafery and would be workable for the Halal certification bodies of the world,” the general secretary said.

The SMIIC is responsible for regulating the actions and enforcing guidelines for the proper functioning of Halal certifying bodies. It developed one universal Halal standard called, OIC-SMIC Halal standards, for Halal manufacturing units, certification bodies, and accreditation agencies.

Sajjad said that now there was a need for an OIC-SMIIC logo. The OIC-SMIC logo will be accompanied by the certifying body logo on the product and services.

“OIC SMIIC: World Halal Assembly which would be held in Islamabad on June 4, aims to provide a platform for religious scholars and technical and scientific experts from all over the world to increase interaction between different business sectors and policy-makers to discuss the importance of using OIC-SMIC Halal standards globally,” Sajjad said.

At present, there are more than 400 Halal certifying bodies and organizations in the world, but only a fraction of them are recognized or registered with some international organizations, he said.

While some regions have an excess number of certification bodies, others have none. Places with a high number of such bodies have fierce competition, which may lead to bitterness, mainly due to varying standards and compromises.

There are too many Halal standards in the world. Every country has its own Halal standards and even within a country sometimes different organizations have their standard.

These standards are similar in most aspects, but not all. For example, types of stunning, acceptance of mechanical slaughtering, ethanol concentration in final products, etc.

“These differences have led to cross-country certification by some of the certifying bodies resulting in an unproductive competition that may lead to enmity between several Halal / Islamic organizations, which is forbidden in Islam,” Sajjad said.

Due to so many different Halal standards in the world, there is confusion and misunderstanding in the Halal audit and certification process and often the Halal logo is abused.

As a result, supply chains are broken creating artificial shortages of raw materials.

The loss of Halal status can easily translate into a significant loss of revenue for Halal manufacturers and producers, he added.