Uttar Pradesh Bans Sale of Halal Certified Products with Immediate Effect

Halal Certified Products

The Uttar Pradesh government has banned the sale of Halal Certified Products with immediate effect in the state. The government has also prohibited the manufacturing, storage, distribution of Halal Certified Products. The production, storage, distribution, and sale of halal foods has been banned in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect.

The development came a day after the Uttar Pradesh Police registered cases against several companies and organizations for allegedly issuing “forged Halal Certified Products” to boost their sales.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday banned the production, storage, distribution, and sale of food, medicines and cosmetic items with Halal Certified Products in the state with immediate effect. The ban has been imposed in the interest of public health and to prevent confusion, officials stated.

The order from the Uttar Pradesh Food Commissioner said, “In the interest of public health, production, storing, distribution and sale of Halal Certified Products edible items are banned in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect.”

Also read | Uttar Pradesh bans Halal-certified food, medicines with immediate effect

The Halal Certified Products ensures that the products and services comply with Islamic law.

The Commissioner’s order states that the right to decide the quality of food items lies only with the authorities mentioned under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

“Thus, Halal Certified Products of food products is a parallel system which creates confusion regarding the quality of food items and is completely against the basic intention of the said Act and is not tenable under Section 89 of the said Act,” the order states.

The government also warned of strict actions against those who violate the ban.

However, goods with Halal Certified Products for export are exempted from the ban.

The order came after the state government, earlier today, stated that the Uttar Pradesh police filed multiple cases against several firms for selling Halal Certified Products using fake documents.

According to a statement issued by the state government, cases were registered against entities such as the Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra and others for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments to boost sales by providing halal certificates to customers of a specific religion.

UP Bans Sale of Halal Certified Products With Immediate Effect

Halal Certified Products of food products is a parallel system which creates confusion regarding the quality of food items and is not tenable under Section 89 of the said Act, an order said.

The Uttar Pradesh government today banned products with a halal tag. Production, storage, distribution, and sale of food products with the Halal Certified Products has been forbidden with immediate effect, said the state government. Products manufactured for export, however, will not be subject to the restrictions.

“Strict legal measures will be implemented against any individual or firm engaged in the production, storage, distribution, buying, and selling of Halal-certified medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics within Uttar Pradesh,” an official order said.

Halal Certified Products of food products is a parallel system which creates confusion regarding the quality of food items and is not tenable under Section 89 of the Food Law Food Safety and Standards Act, the order said. “The right to decide the quality of food items lies only with the authorities and institutions given in Section 29 of the said Act, who check the relevant standards as per the provisions of the Act”, it added.

It said that certain medicines, medical devices, and cosmetic products are reported to feature the Halal Certified Products on their packaging or labelling when there are “no provisions for marking Halal certification on labels in the government rules related to drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics”, nor is there any mention of Halal Certified Products in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and its related rules.

The move comes after a police case was filed against a company and a few other organisations for allegedly “exploiting people’s religious sentiments” to boost sales by providing “forged” halal certificates.

The case has been registered against entities such as the Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra and others for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments to boost sales by providing halal certificates to customers of a specific religion, the UP government said in a statement.

The complainant raised concerns over a large-scale conspiracy, indicating attempts to allegedly decrease the sale of products from companies lacking the halal certificate, which is illegal, the UP government said.

The statement said that these companies allegedly issued forged halal certificates to various companies for financial gains, fostering not only social animosity but also violating public trust.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust, in a statement, termed the allegations as “baseless” and said it will take “necessary legal measures to counter such misinformation”.

Halal Certified Products is mentioned on the labels of certain food products like dairy products, sugar bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready-to-eat savories and edible oils etc, the food commissioner’s office said.

Halal Certified Products is a guarantee that the food is prepared in accordance with Islamic law and is unadulterated. If a product contains animals or animal byproducts that are considered prohibited under the law, then it cannot receive a halal certification.

Who Gives Halal Certification?

Private organizations accredited by the countries which import the products give Halal Certified Products in India as there is no government regulation in this area. The commerce ministry issued a draft guideline early this year on Halal Certified Products saying that the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority would be designated as the overall monitoring agency for this purpose. “All meat and meat products to be exported as ‘Halal Certified’ only if it is 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 said.

What is ‘Halal Certification’? Why companies get their products halal-certified? 

Halal Certification: Halal certification states that the food or the products are permissible for the followers of Islam and no haram product or procedure is used while its manufacturing or processing. 

Amidst the coronavirus crisis, #BoycottHalalProducts started trending on twitter. The campaign was to take down the goods that were Halal certified. Also, a PIL was filed by an NGO named Vishwa Jain Sangathan to restrain the ‘halal’ slaughter in India, keeping in view the coronavirus pandemic as it can be transmitted from animals to humans. 

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What are Halal and Haram?

Halal is an Arabic term which means ‘permissible or lawful’. Halal is related to Islam and its dietary laws an is specifically related to meat processed and prepared as per the requirements of the laws. 

On the other hand, Haram is an Arabic term which means ‘prohibited or forbidden’. As per the Quran, there are several products which are haram for the followers of Islam. These are– Alcohol, dead animal before its slaughter, blood and its by-products, pork and stunned meat (without halal process).

What does Halal law states?

Halal practices mentioned in the Quran are as follows:

1- Only a Muslim man can slaughter the animal. In many texts, it is also mentioned that if Jews and Christians slaughter the animals following the rest of the steps (Halal procedure), the meat is halal as per the Islamic dietary laws. 

2- The animal must be slaughtered with the help of a sharp knife with a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe. 

3- The Quranic verse must be read while slaughtering the animal and is known as Tasmiya or Shahada. 

4- At the time of slaughter, the animal must be alive and healthy.  The maximum amount of blood must be drained from the veins of the carcass. 

5- Consuming meat of an animal which is already dead or other than the halal process is prohibited in Islam. 

Halal Certification

In many Islamic countries, halal certification is given by the government. In India, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) certification can be seen on almost all the processed foods but this authority doesn’t give halal certification in India.  Halal certification is given by many private companies in India which marks the food or products permissible for the followers of Islam. Important halal certification companies in India are:
1- Halal India Private Limited.
2- Halal Certification Services India Private Limited.
3- Jamiat Ulama-E-Maharashtra- A state unit of Jamiat Ulama-E-Hind. 
4- Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust. 

Why cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are halal certified?

Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals need halal certification as these companies use animal by-products. For instance, alcohol is present in perfumes, pig fat is present in lipsticks and lip balms, cosmetic products use by-products of pigs, chickens, goats, etc. and these are termed as haram as per the Islamic laws. Therefore, the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals which are halal certified simply mean that they do not contain anything which is prohibited for the followers of Islam. 

Why companies get their products halal certified?

Companies are getting their products halal certified so that their products can be exported to Islamic countries. It must be noted that the followers of Islam constitute 1.8 billion population of the world, i.e., 24.1% of the world’s population. In addition to this, only halal-certified foods are allowed in many Islamic countries. 

As per several reports, the halal food market constitutes about 19% of the global food market. Thus, to serve the larger markets, to meet the demand and supply chain, many companies are getting their products halal certified. 

From halal foods to cosmetics, another term is ‘Halal Tourism’. In this, the hotels and restaurants do not serve alcohol and only halal-certified food is served in their restaurants. In many hotels, spa and swimming pool facilities are separate for both men and women. 

What issues have risen with halal certification?

1- The cost of the products which are halal certified increases as the certification process is not free of cost. Also, to get a halal certification, several modifications need to be made in the making process. 

2- In several sectors, employment opportunities to non-Muslims are unavailable– Halal Slaughterhouse. 

3- Halal certification is a discriminatory process towards the non-muslims especially in the halal meat industry.

4- There’s no standard halal certification process to date. This means halal-certified products from one country may not be recognised in the other country. For Example, halal certification of India is invalid in UAE. 

It is interesting to note that the halal-certified foods or products are not prohibited for other communities. Anyone following any faith can consume halal-certified food and products.