Halal Food Control Division says the extensive procedure is a necessary burden to ensure a restaurant is truly halal-certified
SEVERAL restaurateurs have criticised the "complicated" process to obtain halal certification, with the majority arguing that the requirement of listing and tracing back the halal origins of every ingredient used in their menu a deterrent to getting the mandatory certificate. (source)
However, an officer from the Halal Food Control Division (HFCD) under the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) told The Brunei Times that the extensive procedure is a necessary burden to truly ensure a restaurant is halal-certified.
"If we do not know the halal status of the ingredients, how can we say that the items served are halal? So, at the very least, there needs to be halal certification from where the ingredient came from," said Hj Kasim Hj Mohamad.
A new policy from the Ministry of Home Affairs makes it mandatory for restaurants and food and drink producers in the Sultanate to be halal-certified by 2014, if they want to sell their products to Muslim customers. Eateries serving non-halal products such as pork will have to opt for a "limited" restaurant licence, which will allow them to only serve non-Muslims.
To date, 27 restaurants and 24 food and drink producers in Brunei have obtained the halal certificate, while eight foreign companies have received the country's halal permit under the national flagship project, the Brunei Halal Brand. When the Halal Label Certificate and Halal Label Order 2005 came into force on August 1, 2008, applications were made on a voluntary basis before it was announced in October this year that it will become compulsory.
Restaurants wishing to be coined halal, however, will have to meet stringent requirements set by the government, such as drafting an exhaustive list of every ingredient included in their products or dishes and beverages.
With each ingredient, the business operators would have to list the brand, the retailer, the producer, and the halal certification (if any).
This criteria was explained by Hj Kasim and a panel of other relevant officials to restaurateurs and food producers during a briefing in Tutong District on the halal label certificate and permit. When the briefing opened to questions from the floor, a number from the audience voiced their concerns over the procedures involved.
Hj Mohd Zain called for the list requirements to be cut down, excluding items such as vegetables, which he said was "known to be halal".
"(Listing) too many ingredients will just make people dizzy (confused)," he said. "In the end, muslim (restauranteurs) will not want to do business."
A second question from a fellow Tutong restaurateur raised doubts on whether all relevant restaurants in Brunei will be able to gain the halal certification in time for the 2014 deadline.
"Less than 100 restaurants have the halal certificate now. How can the rest do it in time, with all these requirements?" he asked.
Idris of Seri Mulia restaurant inquired how they would be able to deem an ingredient, like chicken, halal if bought from a non-Muslim retailer like Hua Ho.
"It's against Islam to trouble us like this. Even selling nasi katok will be a hassle," said Hj Aminoor Rashid.
Hj Aliakbar Hj Taha suggested that the authorities provide restaurant operators with a list of recommended ingredients to use in their menu to simplify the whole process.
The HFCD officer conceded that the process appears difficult, but can and must be done.
"In the beginning, of course it seems confusing. But imagine how much more work it is when we (the authorities) have to check through the ingredients of hundreds of restaurants... But it has to be done," Hj Kasim told the crowd.
He said in the Brunei-Muara District, the Sultanate's most populous, has an estimated 1,500 restaurants.
The authorities would also have to carry out checks twice a year on each premise, with a current workforce of 129 auditors from the municipal departments, district offices, the Ministry of Health, the State Mufti's Department, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, among other agencies. There are six to eight agencies, including police and customs officials, that will carry out enforcement duties such as spot-checks.
As for compiling the list itself, Hj Kasim said, "It looks difficult, but in reality, it is not difficult to do". He gave the example of one elderly operator who managed to compile the list, with guidance from (MoRA), and complete the application form in two days.
"But for items without halal certification like rice (and vegetables)... these are natural ingredients, so halal certification is not needed... they are already halal. That's understood."
He said that businesses, which sell nasi katok will find it easier because they have less ingredients to list out.
"But if they have a lot of products, (then) of course it's a lot (of work). Naturally, that's business," he said.
"Don't view the work as difficult. View it as (something) easy."
The Brunei Times
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