Two large companies that produce some of Australia’s most popular breakfast cereals have stopped paying third-party organisations for halal certification.
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Both Kellogg’s and Sanitarium have made national headlines this week after their decision to stop paying for the certification on Australian products came to light.
The term “halal” means lawful and is used to signify products permissible to be consumed by those of the Muslim faith. In particular if those food items contain meat or animal byproducts, that they have been prepared according to Islamic law.
However, the requirement to pay a fee to third-party Islamic groups in order to have products certified halal draws plenty of, often toxic, criticism from anti-Muslim groups and on social media.
Both Kellogg’s and Sanitarium say their products are inherently halal and able to be consumed by Muslims as they aren’t produced using any meat or alcohol.
For that reason they said they have made a commercial decision to stop paying for the certification on its Australian products as it is unnecessary.
In response to questions from the Bega District News this week, Sanitarium said does not use, nor has it ever needed to use, halal or kosher certification symbols for its local Australian or New Zealand markets “as it is unnecessary to do so”.
They said whether or not the symbol was on their packaging didn’t change the fact their products “are suitable for people choosing halal or kosher foods”.
“Sanitarium has previously obtained halal certification in order to comply with the requirements of some of its more than 35 export countries around the world. However, Sanitarium does not currently hold either halal or kosher certification although it may choose to do so in the future depending on the requirements of our export markets.
Meanwhile, a Kellogg’s spokesperson told the BDN its decision not to renew certification in 2016 was “part of a regular review of all certifications for our foods”.
“As most of our cereals are plant-based, they’re inherently halal, so we chose not to renew our certification...This was a commercial decision, not the result of any public pressure or backlash,” they said.
Other, non-religious, certifications that require third-party inspections and fees include organic certification, the National Heart Foundation “tick”, and the “Australian made” green and gold triangle logo.
What’s permissible?
According to the Australian Food and Grocery Council, for a food or beverage to be halal, it must be:
- free from any substance taken or extracted from a haram (prohibited) animal or ingredient (e.g. pigs, dogs, carnivorous animals, animals not slaughtered in compliance with Islamic rites);
- made, processed, manufactured and/or stored by using utensils, equipment and/or machinery that has been cleaned according to Islamic law (e.g. not cleaned with alcohol); and
- free from contact with, or being close to, a haram substance during preparation, manufacture, processing and storage (e.g. blood, alcohol, poisonous and intoxicating plants and certain insects such as worms and cockroaches).
Many foods and drinks, particularly those that do not contain meat or alcohol, are inherently halal. Other products can be halal if care is exercised in selecting and sourcing ingredients and by the adoption of appropriate manufacturing and handling procedures.
Global markets
According to the Australian Parliament, the global halal market has been estimated at 1.6 billion consumers and may be worth up to US$1.6trillion per annum by 2018. Food certified as halal by an Australian certifying organisation is able to compete in the overseas market and so create export opportunities.
Contrary to anti-halal campaigners’ belief, a Senate Economics References Committee noted, in a 2015 report on third party certification of food, that “evidence indicates that there is no direct link between halal certification in Australia and terrorism funding”.
