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Halal Certification – Unregulated and Deceptive!
4-05-2016
One can say April 4, 2016 could be seen as a historic day for the Canadian Muslims. “As of April 4th, all halal claims on food labels, packaging and advertising materials will need to be accompanied by the name of the organization or person that certified it as halal. This regulatory change supports a consistent approach to halal claims on food products in the Canadian marketplace. It provides Canadians with the information they need to make informed decisions and purchase the food that meets their needs” read the Notice issued by Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
This would be a remarkable improvement to the one we currently have – none!
The question is, will the government initiative make things better and easier for Muslim consumers seeking Halal Food. We believe the CBC News headlines on this news piece sums it all up. “Halal labelling rules kick in today, but certifying organizations remain unregulated.” This is where all the problems will begin, as another prominent national news paper, Globe and Mail, summed it up in their headlines on this topic, “New rule for halal labelling leaves industry open to deception.” The Muslim community across the nation has no one to blame for this mayhem, or what’s to follow the CFIA enforcement of its Halal Certification Regulation except ourselves. As always, we were disorganized in an organized manner, and ultimately, it will be a headache for all, producers, suppliers, advertisers, retailers, community leaders, consumers, and of course the CFIA enforcement officer.
The Muslim community across the nation needs demonstrate and take advantage of the policy or regulations, SOR/2014-76, that was amended exactly two years ago on April 3, 2014, providing for a two-year grace period for everyone to comply with the newly amended regulation, effective April 4, 2016.
The Muslim community had two years to come up with a plan, first of all, the “definition” of the Halal. Yes, the “Definition” of Halal. This in itself has yet to be established. CFIA in its regulation had anticipated that already. “However, there are various interpretations of Islamic law which makes reaching a consensus amongst Canadian Muslims as to what constitutes halal difficult to achieve.”
We had, we repeat once again, two years to come up with a plan for the manufacturers, suppliers etc aiding and assisting them to make the transition towards halal compliance easier, smoother, and of course an excellent opportunity to create jobs for the members of the Muslim community across the nation. We missed the boat, and other private consulting firms are jumping in to cash in on this newly created employment market.
We understand completely that reaching a nationwide consensus may not be possible. However, we feel, that locally we had the opportunity to develop such definition and we should have taken an advantage at an organizational level, especially, BC Muslim Association, which already has a Halal Committee to engage the government and other stake holders offering our expertise. Ultimately, making things easier for all. We had discussed this point two years ago when the regulation was amended, and had offered such suggestions. Obviously, no effective action has been taken, at least one that Muslims in BC can rely on. Just issuing press releases and some door knocking on restaurants and halal producers is not good enough. It has to be delivered in an organized fashion structured in a transparent manner and with a good business plan that will ensure continuity and build confidence in the halal certification process.
The most important problem associated with this regulation pointed out by CBC, “The new federal regulations do not specify which organizations are qualified to certify food as halal, and the CFIA does not oversee such organizations. Nor does the agency spell out any criteria for what constitute halal, leaving that determination up to community and religious organizations.”
The biggest question over halal food has always been between “machine cut” and “hand slaughter.” There are two competing arguments and opponents and proponents, depending on which side of the fence you stand. Both have their own arguments. But how would the consumer find out how the animal was slaughtered?
The second important issue CBC tackled was “"The issue is, there's no unifying certifying body that certifies the certifiers," said Jivraj, who also edits the website halafoodie.ca. "So, anyone can become a certifier. There's no accreditation. That's really the missing link."
We feel this is where large organizations that people trusts, such as the BCMA, MAC, and others can step in qualify themselves to be the Halal Certifying agency. Of course any such services offered to businesses trying to tap into one of the fastest Muslim Halal Market consumer market, would be willing to pay for such services. They of course will pass the cost of this added service to the consumer. However, it amounts to pennies when distributed across a large segment of consumers.
Large Muslim organizations engaged in providing such services will have an avenue to raise much needed funds for their respective organizations. Usually, the businesses are willing to pay “Royalty” five to ten cents per item sold, in return for getting the Halal Food Certification from a trusted and renowned organization.
The organization in turns establishes an entire agency, employing hundreds of individuals as inspectors, enforcers, consultants, administrators, etc. Fees or royalties collected from the businesses covers the cost of their employees. For example, Union of Orthodox Jewish Kosher Program employees more than 600 Rabbinic Field Representatives. It also has more than 50 Rabbinic Coordinators to serve as accounts executives in New York.
We feel it is still not too late as large numbers of Muslims are not even aware of the changes implemented by the CFIA, and it will take years before the industry will be able to actually work properly. However, this is a golden opportunity for Canadian Muslims, to truly define the terms of Halal before other private investors with their own personal vested interests do.
It is about time Muslim organizations in BC get their act together and start defining the Halal Certification process for the Muslims in BC and become the leader in the industry, where businesses from other parts of Canada, such as Ontario and Quebec turn to us for certification.
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