Words like “halal”/“halal method” have been deleted in the manual and replaced with “slaughter as per requirement of importing countries”.
The recently changed requirement is expected to end the domination of India’s minority Muslim community on the meat business, as authorities bowed to a longstanding demand of right-wing outfits and some NGOs who argued that a secular country like India should not endorse strict religious customs as demanded by Islamic clerics and bodies.
Halal rules include an Islamic-approved way of slaughtering animals, while Jhatka is a non-Islamic method.
WEB DESK
India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has edited its Red Meat Manual to remove “halal” specifications for products.
Accordingly, words like ‘halal’/’halal method’ have been deleted in the manual and replaced with “slaughter as per requirement of importing countries”.
Changes were made to sentences such as replacing “slaughtered strictly according to “Halal” method to meet the requirement of Islamic countries/Muslim countries” with “slaughtered according to the requirement of importing country/importer”.
A statement claiming animals are slaughtered according to Halal system as per Islamic Sharia tenets has also been deleted. For products such as gelatin bone chips the specification “through Halal method” has been deleted. In the process flow chart, “Halal” has been replaced by “slaughter.”
This comes amid pressure from right-wing Hindu groups organisations against halal certification for products, Indian Express reported.
Sources told the paper the changes were made as previous wording created an impression that halal certification is mandatory for all meat exports.
APEDA clarified the Indian government does not mandate conditions for halal meat, but it was in place as a majority of importing countries require the certification.
“Halal Certification agencies are accredited directly by respective importing countries. No government agency has any role in this”
Harinder Sikka, an opponent of halal certification, has told the paper that it is “just one step” as halal meat is considered forbidden for Sikhs, adding they will continue their campaign. He added that halal certification had led to “loss of jobs for other communities” as the requirement kept them out of handling meat citing halal requirements.