No accurate way to track halal food, say experts in Oman

Muscat: A halal food logo does not guarantee that the food you are having is indeed halal, experts said.
Speaking at the Food and Health Expo 2016, Assad Sajjad, chief executive officer of the Gulf Halal Centre said there is no accurate way to find out if the food sold at outlets is halal or not.
“Visiting several fast food joints that have the halal stamp along with their names, I always ask them how exactly is all your food halal? Maybe their main ingredient is halal, but what about the oil the food is cooked in and the spices used.
“It is very hard to keep a track of that,” Sajjad said.
He also mentioned that in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), governments usually follow the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process to check the safety of the food, but there is nothing concrete to check if food is halal or not.
When asked about organisations, which do not reveal ingredients of their food items to the Muscat Municipality, officials said there are certain standards set by the government, which are needed to be complied with by every importer, without giving out the details.
According to the another moderator, Mufti Zeeshan Abdul Aziz, chairman of the Gulf Halal Centre, Sharjah board, it is important to check the certificate issuing organisation and only a halal stamp in advertisements prove nothing.
Aziz agreed that it is very hard to keep a tab on food being halal or not.
“The reason for this is that each item has several ingredients that are manufactured in different places; therefore keeping a complete track of the supply chain is very hard. There is countless number of ways a food item can be disqualified from being halal from slaughter to cooking.”
However, he emphasised on the importance of individual education being the key to making sure the food is halal.
“Every food item has ingredients mentioned clearly. If individuals are educated enough on halal and haram ingredients, it would be easy for them to not go wrong,” he explained, citing an example of the L16 additive, which is produced from human and duck hair and commonly used for improving bread quality and is not halal, but few people read through the ingredients’ label.
Aziz added that everything cannot be done by the government and that individuals must start taking care of their own food. He revealed that there are halal alternatives for everything, including gelatin, colour additives, etc. and people must be educated about it to avail these substitutes.