Halal certification service

Parliamentary response

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

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. 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.” The inquiry examined claims that fees charged by halal certifiers are used to fund terrorism and found that no evidence supports them. The inquiry also determined that halal fees are not used to support organised crime in Australia. 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. The committee recommended a single halal certification authority. The committee in recommending clearer labelling, specifically referred to the need for meat processors to label products sourced from animals subject to religious slaughter.

The inquiry could not establish detailed information on names and numbers of non-meat product certifiers.

On 22 June 2017 Senator Pauline Hanson, the leader of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation moved a motion in the Australian Senate calling on the government to respond to the inquiry. The motion was passed.

In August 2017, the government said it would consider amending regulations in relation to halal certification for export and also consider standardising the certification of food in the domestic market.

Halal literally means “permissible” in Arabic and refers to goods, including food items and services that are permissible to be consumed or availed under Sharia law, whereas haram (lit. “unlawful”) refers to goods that are forbidden to be consumed or availed. The Philippines despite being a Christian-majority country has a state-sanctioned program to facilitate halal certification of goods under the Halal Act of 2016.

The Philippines is a Christian-majority country although there are state-led efforts to develop the halal certification process in the country, for numerous purposes such as international trade and as means to encourage more halal tourism by providing more dining options for Muslim tourists. As of 2018, the Philippines only contributes 5 percent to the global halal industry trade according to its Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Philippine government is seeking to expand and develop the halal certification process in the country in order to develop its export industry with Muslim-majority countries. The government has also promoted halal-certified food items to non-Muslims since halal food items are free from alcohol, pork, and pork-derived products