News From : DagangHalal.com (07 Apr 2010)
THE law will be amended to provide enforcement officers from the Islamic Development Depart ment (Jakim) powers to prevent the abuse of the halal logo by commercial enterprises.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim said previously Jakim officers could only accompany enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumerism Ministry to conduct raids on companies suspected to have misused the logo.
“Amendments will be made to the Trade Descriptions Act to appoint Jakim as a competent authority on issues related to halal certification.
“It means that Jakim will be empowered to carry out inspections and seizures of evidence during enforcement operations,” she told Datuk Taib Azzamuddin Mohd Taib (PAS – Baling).
Dr Mashitah said Jakim had taken over the management of halal certification from the Halal Industry Development Corpo ration (HDC) from Aug 1 last year.
– theStar Online