October 21, 2011

GCC nations to make "halal" stamp compulsory

In order to ensure meat imports conform to Islamic rules of slaughter, six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are considering making a 'halal' stamp for imported meat mandatory.

All countries that are members of the GCC Standards Organisation - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, would soon impose additional requirements to ensure the quality of meat imported to the region and they are slaughtered according to Shariah, Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, assistant undersecretary at the Department of Laboratories and Standardisation Affairs of Qatar has said.

Al Kuwari said forcing the importers to put a Halal stamp on the meat is one of the proposals that are being seriously considered by the member countries. The meat like other food products should also have to comply with the GCC quality standards and requirements.

 Exporters would be asked to produce a certificate to prove that the meat was slaughtered according to Shariah and the certificate will have to be approved by the embassies of the GCC countries in the exporting countries, he said.

Al Kuwari said that all canned food imported to the GCC countries should carry details about the ingredients and also specify if any chemicals were added to the food. Rules under Shariah or Islamic law prescribe a particular way of slaughtering animals for food. Meat slaughtered by any other way is considered prohibited under the rules.