On 18th November, hours after it was reported that the CM Yogi Adityanath-led state government is contemplating a ban on Halal certification in the state, the state administration issued orders to this effect. The state’s Food Safety and Drug Administration Commissioner issued an order dated 18th November, notification number – FSDA Food/2023/6145 to put an immediate ban on the production, storage, distribution, and sale of ‘Halal certified’ food items citing public health. The “Halal-certified items’ banned include edible items, medicines, and cosmetic items.
The UP govt notification says that the Halal certification is a parallel system as the country has the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to determine the quality of foods and that it violates the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, under which FSSAI was formed.
The notification said that Halal certification is being mentioned on the labels of certain food products like dairy products, sugar, bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready to eat savories, edible oils etc. It said that Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was promulgated in 2006 by repealing 8 old laws, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the apex body for food items, was formed under it to implement the provisions of the act.
As per Section 29 of the Act, FSSAI has been given the power to decide the quality of food items, and it is the only body authorised to check the concerned standards of the food items as per the provisions given in the Act. The order noted, “Thus, Halal certification of food products is a parallel system that creates confusion regarding the quality of food items and is completely against the basic intention of the said Act, and is not tenable under Section 89 of the said Act.”
Section 29 states that FSSAI is responsible for the enforcement of the act, and Section 89 states that the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 overrides any contradictory provision in any other act.
“In the interest of public health, production, storing, distribution and sale of halal certified edible items are banned in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect,” the Food Commissioner’s order stated.
It added, “The above situation is covered by the definition of counterfeiting in Section 3(1) (zf(A(i)) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, which comes under the category of an offence punishable with a fine under Section 52 of the said Act.”
Section 3(1) (zf(A(i)) says, “misbranded food” means an article of food offered or promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims either through the label of packaging or through advertisement. The notification added that violation of this provision is punishable as per Section 52 of the same act.
The order also warns entities of strict actions in case they violate the act and the prohibitory orders. The notification added that the order complies with Section 30(2)(d) of the Food Safety and Standards Act and exercises the right vested in Section 30(2)(a) of the said Act. Through those powers, it has promulgated this order that manufacturing of food products with Halal certification within the limits of Uttar Pradesh state is prohibited in view of public health.
However, the order has excluded exporters from these orders and there would be no ban on ‘Halal certified’ items for exports.
The order comes after the Uttar Pradesh police, earlier today, registered an FIR against several companies selling “Halal certified” products using forged documents. The FIR was lodged at Lucknow’s Hazratganj Kotwali against companies named Halala India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulema Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai and Jamiat Ulema in Mumbai.
These companies were selling products such as bathing soaps, spices, snacks, dairy, and garments with fake Halal certifications. Lucknow Police has registered against the accused under sections 120b/153a/298, 384, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 505 of IPC. The police are investigating the matter.
It is important to note that ‘Halal certification’ has been banned as the order noted that it was creating confusion and was running as a parallel system with FSSAI which is the official regulator in India. However, there is no ban issued on ‘Halal food’ which is different from Halal certification. This order will impact the packaged goods sector. However, butchers selling meat, the most prominent Halal food item, are unlikely to be impacted. Because even though the butchers use the Halal method of slaughtering, it is not explicitly certified with any labelling. But shops displaying ‘Halal certified’ boards may have to remove such displays.
Additionally, the order excludes exports of products under Halal certification, including meat. Pertinently, the DGFT under the Commerce Ministry notifies guidelines for halal certification of meat and meat products specifically for export purposes. This is required as most Muslim countries that import meat from India only accept Halal-certified products.
For those unversed, the term Halal is used for products, services, or systems that are considered lawful (Tayeib) or permissible under the Islamic Shariah law that do not consist of or contain any part that is considered unlawful (haram) according to Islamic law, and/or the actions permitted by Shariah law without punishment imposed on the doer.
The Halal certification complies with Islamic laws and is used to ensure that products, items, and services comply with Islamic practices. Apart from prescribing accepted methods of slaughtering livestock, this also applies to several non-products. Because, as per Islamic laws, no product should contain any ingredient which has been banned as haram. This includes ingredients derived from pig and alcohol.
In the year 2006, the Consolidated Food Law Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 was promulgated after repealing 8 food laws. Since then, the right to specify the quality of food items lies only with the authorities/institutions given in Section 29 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The order stressed that the said act and the regulations promulgated thereunder have a preferential effect on all other food laws under Section 89.