Halal label is seen on a pack of food displayed to sell at a mini market.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The government’s move to apply conditions for the export of certain halal meat and its products came into effect on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

In a notification on October 1, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said specified meat and meat products will be allowed to be exported as halal certified to 15 countries, only if such goods are produced or processed and/or packaged in a facility certified under the ‘India Conformity Assessment Scheme (I-CAS) – Halal’ of the Quality Council of India (QCI).

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The 15 countries are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Jordan, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and the UAE.

After the shipments, the exporter will have to provide a valid certificate to the buyer in the importing country.

“Policy conditions for export of specified halal meat and meat products are notified,” the DGFT said.

In April 2023, to streamline the halal certification process for the export of meat and meat products from India, the detailed guidelines on halal certification for the export of meat and its products were notified by the directorate.

Earlier there was no mandatory halal certification system in India regulated by the government as India does not have a national regulation for the certification.

Halal certification is given by many private companies in India which marks the food or products permissible. The major halal-certifying organisations in India include Halal India Pvt Ltd and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust.

The International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF) is an international network of accreditation bodies mandated to enforce halal standards in their economies.