The Fisheries Minister of Maharashtra, Nitesh Rane, has launched a certification platform, MalharCertification.com, to ensure that the preparation and sale of meat is “according to Hindu religious traditions”. The platform encourages consumers to buy meat only from certified vendors, guaranteeing fresh and contamination-free meat sourced from vendors belonging to the Hindu Khatik community. The initiative appears to be a socio-political response to the ongoing “Halal Certification” movement, promoted by some ingenious traders to exploit the religious sentiments of the Muslim community.
Only time will tell how effective the “Malhar certification” will be in countering Halal certification. But the entire issue needs to be seen in a different light, and the Halal certification business must be examined more critically.
The Maharashtra government should take the Halal certification issue—which is unmandated by law and hence illegal—more seriously and approach the court to have the certification process scrutinised for its legality. A counter “Malhar” certification may not be the right answer in the long run.
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The big business of Halal certification
As of now, Halal certification is issued by a private limited company, Halal India Pvt Ltd, and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust. Producers of goods have to pay as much as Rs 60,000 for Halal certification per product. So, a multinational corporation with a dozen consumer products would have to pay over Rs 7 lakh just for a private Muslim trust’s certification, which is neither mandated by the government nor part of any official certification process like AGMARK, BIS, or the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Established in 1919 by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the Halal Trust India claims to be globally renowned as one of the “most influential, reliable, and popular organisations in India”. It purports to be a leading Halal certification body, with a “distinct and patented Halal logo” that’s widely recognised around the world. It boasts of providing Halal certification to Halal-compliant restaurants, hotels, hospitals, processed food manufacturing units, slaughterhouses, and so on. Not just this, it also issues certificates for products like lipstick, tulsi water, biscuits, and water bottles, to ensure that animal fat, bones, or any other prohibited components have not been used in their manufacturing.
For all these certifications, the amount it earns appears to be far too little, given the fee structure and the prospective product list. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in response to the Union government’s allegations that it earns lakhs of crores, the trust claimed that its annual collection is around a mere Rs 2.1 crore, of which Rs 59.2 lakh is paid as tax.
Besides the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust, there are several other private entities issuing Halal certificates for a fee. These certificates are supposed to verify that a product complies with Islamic dietary laws and is permissible for human consumption. It is doubtful whether these certifying agencies employ qualified, scientifically trained personnel who are capable of guaranteeing the quality and hygiene of products that are consumed by millions.
Govt food safety systems already exist
As against these private outfits issuing certificates, the government has instituted several official agencies that are responsible for ensuring that edible products meet safety and quality standards.
The FSSAI serves as the primary body responsible for certifying food products, and mandates that all food businesses operating in India obtain its license or registration. In addition, AGMARK, regulated by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection under the Ministry of Agriculture, ensures that agricultural products like cereals, pulses, vegetable oils, and honey conform to specific quality standards.
Manufacturers of specific food products, including complementary foods, milk powder, and packaged drinking water, are required to obtain a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which ensures production standards for the industry. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, further, identifies and controls hazards in the food production process, while ISO certification sets out the requirements for food safety management systems.
When such elaborate food safety systems and standards are in place to certify the quality of food products and the manufacturing process, there is no reason why the government should allow non-governmental outfits to play with the lives of consumers by insisting on issuing certificates based mainly on religious beliefs and sentiments.
Notwithstanding this, in April 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued guidelines for the export of “halal certified” meat and meat-related products, stipulating that they must be produced, processed, and packaged in a facility with a valid certificate issued by a body accredited by the Quality Council of India. To streamline halal certification, the government also developed the India Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS) and directed existing bodies to seek accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB).
In November 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government deemed halal certification a “parallel system”—arguing that it was completely against the basic intention of the Food Safety and Standards Act—and imposed a state-wide ban on the “production, storing, distribution and sale of halal certified edible items”.
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When religious sentiment breeds profiteering
The principle of Halal, in the broader sense of the term, permits any enjoyment or consumption, including pecuniary benefits, as long as it does not cause harm, pain, or loss to any individual or animal, especially in the case of meat. Any infringement of this principle is considered Haram.
But what began as a certificate to regulate the way an animal is slaughtered and meat is obtained has evolved into a multi-crore industry that “permits” the production and sale of almost every consumer product. It has become a brand-building technique to tap a huge export market of Halal consumers worldwide. The Halal trade is estimated to be worth $80 billion, or 12 percent of the total agri-food trade. Thus, a Halal certificate automatically provides a competitive advantage over a product without such a certificate or logo.
The government should seriously consider if this constitutes an offence under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTP), now replaced by the Competition Act in 2002, which prohibits unfair trade practices and seeks to protect consumers and businesses from anti-competitive practices.
Religious sentiments should be kept out of trade and business, and more so when it concerns food safety, quality, and standards.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)