Halal certification in Australia

Part of a series on Islam in Australia
History
Early history Makasan contact · Afghan cameleers Battle of Broken Hill Contemporary society Halal certification in Australia Islamophobia in Australia
Mosques
List of Mosques Auburn Gallipoli Mosque · Central Adelaide Mosque • Lakemba Mosque · Marree Mosque
Organisations
Islamic organisations in Australia AFIC · ANIC • LMA · IMAA · IISNA • ICQ • ICV • MWA
Groups
Afghan • Albanian • Arab • Bangladeshi Bosnian • Indian • Indonesian • Iranian Iraqi • Lebanese • Malay • Pakistani • Turkish
People
Notable Australian Muslims Grand Mufti of Australia Taj El-Din Hilaly • Fehmi Naji • Ibrahim Abu Mohamed

Halal certification in Australia began in 1974. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) was recommended as the sole authority for the standardisation and oversight for food products purchased by religious Muslims in Australia.^[1]

Halal literally means "permissible" in Arabic, and refers to food items that are permissible to consume under Sharia law, and Haram (lit. unlawful) refers to any substance not permitted to consume. According to the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Halal must be "free from any substance taken or extracted from a Haram 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 insects such as worms and cockroaches)."^[2]

There are close to two dozen Halal certification organisations operating in Australia,^[3] with the four biggest certifiers (classed as not-for-profit enterprises) being the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), the Halal Certification Authority Australia (HCAA), the Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia (SICHMA) and the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV).^[4] A number of businesses also provide Halal certification services.^[5] The Australian Government does not have a formal role in labelling Halal food for domestic consumption.^[6]

Halal certification is used for meats^[7] and other products including traditional Australian food items such as vegemite^[8] and Anzac biscuits.^[9]

Halal serves as part of the trade links between Australia and several Muslim countries, particularly Middle Eastern ones. Halal meat and meat product exports to the Middle East and Southeast Asia have greatly increased from the 1970s onwards; this expansion was due in part to efforts of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.^[10]^:151 Certification, which involves both costs^[11] and restrictions,^[12]^[13] is necessary to access this large export market.^[5] The federal Department of Agriculture approves the certification of Halal food for export to Islamic countries.^[6]

Australian certification for halal meat exports

In Australia specified halal accreditation agencies are permitted to certify as Halal the exports of red meat and red meat products to Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.^[3] Approaches have been made to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) by various Australian agencies to establish accreditation for particular Australian certification arrangements to secure the export trade for halal-certified meat products.^[14] For approval, Indonesia specifies that there be both a scientist and an expert in Islamic law working within the Australian organisation seeking halal accreditation.^[15] During the lobbying process by Australia for Indonesian halal accreditation, corruption has been alleged and denied.^[16]^[17]^[18]

In assessing halal meat exports to the US, an investigation by Halal Advocates of America covered "over ten" slaughterhouses in Australia. They determined that there are differences in the, "degree of reliability and trustworthiness" of Australian halal certifying bodies, that pre-stunning is being used and that none of the slaughterers had "deviated beliefs or belonged to one of the deviated sects". The investigators said they were satisfied with the certification processes of ICCV and SICHMA and said there was great potential in working with these two organisations in the future.^[19]

Debate regarding Halal slaughter

There is a debate within the Muslim community over whether meat from animals which are killed after first being stunned can be considered Halal.^[5] While research undertaken by Meat & Livestock Australia supports the use of pre-slaughter stunning,^[20] Ikebal Patel, the then president of AFIC, believes, "the jury is still out".^[21] The RSPCA says while the vast majority of halal slaughter in Australia involves pre-slaughter stunning,^[22] "the slaughter of a fully conscious animal is inhumane and completely unnecessary" and is strongly lobbying for action against this practice for all domestic and export animals.^[23]

Royal Commission into meat substitution

A 1980 Australian Royal Commission into meat substitution found there was, "large scale substitution of halal meat". The Commission also determined that one large company routinely falsified halal certificates.^[24]

Halal logos as registered Trade Marks

Australian halal certification marks can be registered by the legal owner under the Australian Trade Mark Act. In a 2014 court case, HCAA successfully sued a meat supplier to kebab shops for unauthorised usage of a halal logo. The Supreme Court awarded damages, against the wholesaler, of $91,015.00 being 150% of the annual licence fees, that would have been otherwise payable.^[25]^[26]

Opposition to Halal certification

In 2014 anti-Islam groups campaigned against Australian food companies in an attempt to discourage them from having their food certified as being halal. These groups argued that the cost of certification increases the prices of food to all consumers, and that the fees charged for certification are used to fund terrorism.^[27]^[28] In November 2014 Fleurieu Milk & Yoghurt Company decided to stop producing halal products after being targeted by campaigners, and a number of other large and small companies were also reported to have been targeted.^[29] Keysar Trad from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils told a journalist in July 2014 that these groups were attempting to exploit anti-Muslim sentiments.^[27]