News From : DagangHalal.com (24 Aug 2009)
THE Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has taken issue with a claim by supermarket chain Fairprice that its new halal auditing programme will give greater consumer assurance.
Speaking at the sidelines of a halal seminar on Friday, Muis president Mohd Alami Musa stressed that the council is the sole authority that can certify establishments and products as halal, or suitable for Muslim consumption.
His statement comes after Singapore’s biggest supermarket chain, FairPrice, announced it is helping its Muslim customers with a halal auditing programme – done by another Muslim body.
The auditors are a consultancy called Pergas Halbiz, a subsidiary of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas).
Fairprice announced the plan on Wednesday at the launch of their newest outlet in Joo Chiat Complex, which is also their first to undergo a halal audit.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, FairPrice’s managing director of group business, then said that the audit which will cover 40 outlets ‘will give our Muslim customers a greater level of assurance that the halal food here is in fact halal’.
But Muis said on Friday that they have not yet certified the Joo Chiat outlet.
WITH more companies seeking halal certification, Muis is taking steps to strengthen its processes.
Three key initiatives were announced at Friday’s halal seminar by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim:
# New certificates with better security features, such as the word ‘copy’ showing up in photocopied versions, as well as microprinted text.
Muis has seen the number of companies using photocopied certificates rise from 25 in 2006 to 34 last year. So far this year they have seen 21 such cases.
# Launch of a ‘whole plant’ scheme.
Instead of applying for certification for every new product, manufacturers can certify their plant and cut down on red tape. This will be available from October.
# Outsourcing of some duties.
Muis said a division in their subsidiary Warees Investments would take over its inspecting duties for halal certification. But Muis would still be the final authority that can issue the certificates.