Uttar Pradesh govt's 'halal ban' keeps meat sellers on tenterhooks

The order though some said applies only to products other than meat which is sold as 'halal' certified

The UP government’s order banning sale and distribution of halal certified food products in the state may make meat sellers wary of explicitly promoting such items through advertising boards outside their shops.

The state government over the weekend banned sale, distribution and display of halal certified products in the state. The announcement, however, is unlikely to impact exports which have been kept outside the purview of the ban, trade and market sources said.
 

Meat sellers, who were alarmed after the announcement, said that it is very difficult to distinguish halal from non-halal meat as unofficial estimates show almost 90 per cent of the meat and meat products sold in India are halal.
 

India annually exports meat and meat products worth around Rs 26,000 crore, for which the Central government recently streamlined the process of getting halal certification for exporters.
 

According to the draft guidelines, the Agriculture and Processed Export Development Authority (Apeda) under the Ministry of Commerce would be the overall nodal agency to monitor the process of granting the certification.
 

The guidelines said that all meat and meat products to be exported as ‘halal certified’ can be done only if it is produced, processed and packed under a valid certificate issued by a certification body duly accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), Quality Council of India.
 

In some of the importing nations, the countries have their own private certification agencies that give ‘halal’ certification.
 

According to news agency PTI, the state government in an official statement said that it has recently received information which indicated that products such as dairy items, sugar, bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready-to-eat beverages, and edible oils are being labelled with a halal certification.
 

According to the Act and rules applicable to food items, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has been given the right to determine the standards of food items, the statement said.