Halal certification in Australia

Halal certification in Australia began in 1974. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) was recommended as the prime authority for the standardisation and oversight for food products purchased by religious Muslims in Australia.^[1]

Halal literally means "permissible" in Arabic and refers to food items that are permissible to consume under Sharia law, whereas Haram (lit. unlawful) refers to any substance not permitted to consume. According to the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Halal must be "free from any substance taken or extracted from a Haram animal or ingredient (e.g. pigs, dogs, carnivorous animals, animals not slaughtered in compliance with Islamic rites); made, processed, manufactured and/or stored by using utensils, equipment and/or machinery that has been cleaned according to Islamic law (e.g. not cleaned with alcohol); and free from contact with, or being close to, a Haram substance during preparation, manufacture, processing and storage (e.g. blood, alcohol, poisonous and intoxicating plants and insects such as worms and cockroaches)."^[2]

The Australian Government does not have a formal role in labelling Halal food for domestic consumption.^[3]

Halal certification is used for meats^[4] and other products, including traditional Australian food items such as vegemite^[5] and Anzac biscuits.^[6]

Halal serves as part of the trade links between Australia and several Muslim countries, particularly Middle Eastern ones. Halal meat and meat product exports to the Middle East and Southeast Asia have greatly increased from the 1970s onwards. This expansion was due in part to efforts of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.^[7]:151 Certification, which involves both costs^[8] and restrictions,^[9][10] is necessary to access this large export market.^[11] The federal Department of Agriculture approves the certification of Halal food for export to Islamic countries.^[3]

Background

In 1981, a meat substitution scandal where substitution of horse and kangaroo meat for beef in consignments for overseas exports threatened the reputation of the Australian meat export industry.^[12][13] The next year, a Royal Commission into the meat industry investigated mislabelling of meat products, which included forged halal certificates.^[14][15] The Royal Commission said that Halal certification monopolies should be avoided and that fees charged should "not be seen as a way of raising revenue for other Muslim purposes unconnected with the meat industry."^[15][13]

Australian certification for halal meat exports

In Australia specified halal accreditation agencies are permitted to certify as Halal the exports of red meat and red meat products to Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.^[16] Approaches have been made to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) by various Australian agencies to establish accreditation for particular Australian certification arrangements to secure the export trade for halal-certified meat products.^[17] For approval, Indonesia specifies that there be both a scientist and an expert in Islamic law working within the Australian organisation seeking halal accreditation.^[18] During the lobbying process by Australia for Indonesian halal accreditation, corruption has been alleged and denied.^[19][20][21]

In assessing halal meat exports to the US, an investigation by Halal Advocates of America covered "over ten" slaughterhouses in Australia. They determined that there are differences in the, "degree of reliability and trustworthiness" of Australian halal certifying bodies, that pre-stunning is being used and that none of the slaughterers had "deviated beliefs or belonged to one of the deviated sects". The investigators said they were satisfied with the certification processes of ICCV and SICHMA and said there was great potential in working with these two organisations in the future.^[22]

Debate regarding Halal slaughter

There is a debate within the Muslim community over whether meat from animals which are killed after first being stunned can be considered Halal.^[11] While research undertaken by Meat & Livestock Australia supports the use of pre-slaughter stunning,^[23] Ikebal Patel, the then president of AFIC, believes, "the jury is still out".^[24] The RSPCA says while the vast majority of halal slaughter in Australia involves pre-slaughter stunning,^[25] "the slaughter of a fully conscious animal is inhumane and completely unnecessary" and is strongly lobbying for action against this practice for all domestic and export animals.^[26]

Halal logos as registered Trade Marks

Australian halal certification marks can be registered by the legal owner under the Australian Trade Mark Act. In a 2014 court case, HCAA successfully sued a meat supplier to kebab shops for unauthorised usage of a halal logo. The Supreme Court awarded damages, against the wholesaler, of $91,015.00 being 150% of the annual licence fees, that would have been otherwise payable.^[27][28]

Opposition to Halal certification

In 2014 anti Halal Certification groups campaigned against Australian food companies in an attempt to discourage them from having their food certified as being halal. Some of these groups argued that the cost of certification increases the prices of food to all consumers, and that the fees charged for certification are used to fund terrorism.^[29][30] In November 2014 Fleurieu Milk & Yoghurt Company decided to stop producing halal products after being targeted by campaigners, and a number of other large and small companies were also reported to have been targeted.^[31] Keysar Trad from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils told a journalist in July 2014 that these groups were attempting to exploit anti-Muslim sentiments.^[29]

Inquiry into third-party certification of food

In May 2015, the Australian Senate announced it would inquire into "third-party certification of food"^[32] with one of the terms of reference being an examination of Australian food certification schemes, and certifiers, including those related to halal foods.^[33]

The inquiry's final report was released on 1 December 2015. It recommended that the federal government increase its oversight of domestic halal certifiers to address fraudulent conduct in the sector.^[34] It said that it had heard, "credible reports suggesting that the lack of regulation has been unscrupulously exploited". In tabling the report, committee chairman Sam Dastyari said, "Some certifiers are nothing more than scammers."^[35] The inquiry examined claims that fees charged by halal certifiers are used to fund terrorism and found that no evidence supports them.^[36][37] The inquiry also determined that halal fees are not used to support organised crime in Australia.^[34] It also concluded that the fees do not increase the cost of food to Australians, and that the availability of halal certification allows Australian exporters to access very large international markets.^[34] The committee recommended a single halal certification authority.^[35] The committee in recommending clearer labelling, specifically referred to the need for meat processors to label products sourced from animals subject to religious slaughter.^[38]

See also

• Central Adelaide Mosque
• Dhabihah
• Islam in Australia
  • Islamic organisations in Australia
• Islamic dietary laws
• Legal aspects of ritual slaughter
• Religion in Australia
• Ritual slaughter
• Zakat

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Halal.

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Halal

• Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
• Halal Certification Authority Australia
• Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia
• Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria
• "What is Halal? A Guide for Non-Muslims." A pamphlet by the Islamic Council of Victoria and Muslims Australia/AFIC.