Halal certifications service 2

Business

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated the global industry value of halal food consumer purchases to be $1.1 trillion in 2013, accounting for 16.6 percent of the global food and beverage market, with an annual growth of 6.9 percent. Growth regions include Indonesia ($197 million market value in 2012) and Turkey ($100 million). The European Union market for halal food has an estimated annual growth of around 15 percent and is worth an estimated $30 billion, approximately $8 billion of which are accounted for in France.

The halal food and beverage industry has also made a significant impact on supermarkets and other food business such as restaurants. French supermarkets had halal food sales totalling $210 million in 2011, a 10.5% growth from five years prior. In France, the market for halal foods is even larger than the market for other types of common foods. For example, in 2010, the market for halal foods and beverages in France was nearly twice that of organic foods. Auchan, a large French supermarket chain, now sells 80 certified halal meat products, along with 30 pre-cooked halal meals and 40 frozen halal products. Upscale restaurants and catering services have also added halal foods to their menus. In addition, many beverage companies such as Evian have taken the effort to add a halal stamp on their products to show that their water and other beverages are pure and not haram or forbidden under Islamic law.

Interaction with global regulation

Halal standards and regulations have been considered as an obstacle to international trade while the discrimination towards import products also lacks transparency. Trade disputes related to Halal have emerged even among Muslim and Islamic countries, for instance at the regional level within the ASEAN.

European Union

On 17 December 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that member countries may ban religious slaughter in order to promote animal welfare and could impose non-lethal stunning before the killing of animals. The ruling was in response to a challenge to a 2017 Flemish government prohibition on the killing of animals without prior non-lethal (also called reversible) stunning by Jewish and Muslim associations.

India

The Muslim community has been receptive of halal food and certification. Members of the right-wing Hindutva groups in India have protested against the sale of Halal food in India. Bajrang Dal, Vishva Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva groups have run door to door campaign in the state of Karnataka, asking people not to purchase Halal meat. In March 2022 the Hindutva group Bajrang Dal physically attacked a Muslim meat seller, five persons were arrested in the incident. In March 2022, C. T. Ravi, national general secretary for the ruling right wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, referred to halal food as “economic jihad”.

United Kingdom

As of August 2012, an estimated 27 UK Tesco supermarkets, in addition to most urban Asda and many Morrisons supermarkets, have halal meat counters, selling meat approved for consumption by Muslims. According to the Food Standards Agency Animal Welfare Update report, published September 2017, 16 percent of animals slaughtered by the halal method were not stunned before slaughter, which violates RSPCA standards on animal welfare. However, it is legal in the UK due to an exemption in the law granted to Jews and Muslims.

Non-food applications

In addition to food and diet, halal lifestyle can include travel, finance, clothing, media, recreation, cosmetics. Halal lifestyle can even involve professional practises ranging from industrial and manufacturing logistics to supply chains.

Pharmaceuticals

Some Muslims refrain from using pharmaceuticals that are not halal. This distinction is most noticeably practiced in Malaysia, which has a large halal pharmaceutical industry, complete with government regulations to make sure the products are tayyib. On the other hand, the Quran obliges Muslims to seek treatment, including preventive ones, for diseases regardless of what the care provider believes in. In particular, medicines containing animal products like gelatin have been deemed permissible by a 1995 council of Islamic jurisprudents, making such distinction unnecessary. The decentralized nature of Islam allows both opinions to exist.

The controversy over pharmaceuticals has led to the refusal of childhood vaccination in some Muslim-majority countries, despite many religious leaders expressly endorsing vaccination. It is also a concern in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Personal care

Feminine hygiene products and diapers have been certified as halal in Malaysia. Such certification is not required by the religion, nor is there a demand from Muslims. Critics consider such “unnecessary” certification as little more than a marketing gimmick, e.g., halal labels on clearly vegetarian soft drinks or naturally grown food items like cereals, pulses, vegetables and processed foods made exclusively from vegetable products.