Halal Logo on
Non-Halal Food Upsets Malaysian Muslims
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, July 23 (IslamOnline) - Malaysian consumers are getting
increasingly upset over reports of non-Halal products carrying the
official Halal logo, leading to complaints to the authorities, news
reports said Tuesday, July 23, 2002.
Several
cases of abuse of the Halal logo has been found and reported to the
proper authorities by concerned Malaysian Muslims, who said the logo
was deliberately placed on non-Halal products.
The
Islamic Development Department (Jakim) Monday, July 22, announced it
was taking the necessary precautions to protect Muslim consumers.
However,
concerns are high among Muslims that an abuse of the standards that
guides halal certifications could lead to the consumption of non-halal
food by their families, IslamOnline was told.
Jakim’s
director of research Mustafa Abdul Rahman Monday told the local press
in Kuala Lumpur that his organization is looking into two or three
serious cases of misuse of the Jakim’s Halal logo.
Abdul
Rahman commented on reports in local Malay language dailies about
non-Halal products carrying the logo, which mislead many Muslim
consumers to buy such products in the good faith that these were
Halal.
The Sun
Newspaper, an English daily distributed freely in Kuala Lumpur,
reported that there were no laws in Malaysia that prevented
manufacturers to issuing the Halal logo individually.
If the
errant manufacturers are found cheating customers by displaying the
logo on non-Halal products, the Jakim, which handles such cases can
take action against them.
Individuals
can be fined up to & 25, 000 for the first offence of misleading
the consumers and the misuse of the logo. The penalty increases is
doubled for subsequent offences. Companies can also be fined
& 65, 000 to & 130, 000 altogether.
The
Jakim said its Halal logo, which became a mark of trust on products
permissible for use and consumption by Muslims, were issued only after
the products has been certified as Halal by the appointed authorities.
“We
will go through every single ingredient before issuing a halal
certificate. If need be, we will travel overseas to check on the
status of the ingredients used,” Abdul Rahman said.
“It is
very difficult to know whether a product is really halal or not. If
they start abusing the halal logo and stick it on non-halal products,
there will be no trust in local manufacturers altogether,” a member
of a consumer association told IslamOnline.
Another
consumer, who is a top officer in a government agency told IslamOnline
that logo printing on non-halal products were not the only problems
Muslim consumers are facing.
He
narrated an incident where his wife had to intervene at one of the
giant supermarkets in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, to get non-halal
products removed from the shelf where halal products are displayed.
Malaysia
has strict guidance on the display of non-halal products. Some super
marts do not sell non-halal products, but most of them do. These
products, destined to the non-Muslim clientele, are displayed in
shelves that are totally separated from halal products.
The high
ranking officer told IslamOnline that the issue of halal and non-halal
has to be taken into consideration in Malaysia, considering the
sensitivity of halal and non-halal products for Muslims.
Malaysia
has a growing Muslim population that today stands at 60 percent of the
27 million people of the country.
According
to Abdul Rahman, the Malaysian Halal standard was introduced in 1982
and reviewed in 1993.
The
printing of the logo certifying a product is halal was made necessary
since Malaysia has a majority Muslim population but its manufacturers
are not necessarily of the same faith.
Malaysia
also imports a variety of products from other countries, some of these
products, including Chocolates and sweets or meat and other
consumables, are not halal.
The
importers of halal products have the obligation to repack their
products according to local needs and standards, and in such cases
that is where the halal logo is needed.
The
halal standard is meant as a guideline to the industries involved in
the processing of halal food as well as a basis for ascertaining the
halal status by the Malaysian concerned authorities.
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