Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has issued a ban on products carrying a halal certification. The production, storage, distribution, and sale of food items with the Halal tag are now prohibited with immediate effect, according to the state government. However, products intended for export will not be subject to these restrictions.

The official order states that strict legal measures will be taken against individuals or firms involved in the production, storage, distribution, purchase, and sale of Halal-certified medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics within Uttar Pradesh.

The order argues that the Halal certification of food products operates as a parallel system, creating confusion about the quality of food items, and is deemed untenable under Section 89 of the Food Safety and Standards Act. "The right to decide the quality of food items lies only with the authorities and institutions specified in Section 29 of the said Act, who check the relevant standards as per the provisions of the Act," it adds.

The order highlights that certain medicines, medical devices, and cosmetic products display the Halal certificate on their packaging or labeling despite the absence of provisions for marking Halal certification on labels in the government rules related to drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. There is also no mention of Halal certification in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and its related rules. This move follows a police case against a company and several organizations for allegedly "exploiting people's religious sentiments" to boost sales through providing "forged" halal certificates.

Entities such as Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra, and others are facing a case for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments to enhance sales by providing halal certificates to customers of a specific religion, as stated by the UP government. The complainant expressed concerns about a large-scale conspiracy aimed at allegedly decreasing the sale of products from companies lacking the halal certificate, which is deemed illegal, the UP government noted.

According to the statement, these companies allegedly issued forged halal certificates to various companies for financial gains, leading to social animosity and violating public trust. In response, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust termed the allegations as "baseless" and announced intentions to take "necessary legal measures to counter such misinformation." Halal certification is mentioned on the labels of certain food products, including dairy products, sugar bakery products, peppermint oil, salty ready-to-eat savories, and edible oils, according to the food commissioner's office.

Halal certification serves as a guarantee that the food is prepared in accordance with Islamic law and is free from adulteration. If a product contains animals or animal byproducts considered prohibited under Islamic law, it cannot receive a halal certification. Specifically, halal foods are those made, produced, manufactured, processed, and stored using machinery, equipment, and/or utensils cleaned according to Islamic law and are free from any component that Muslims are prohibited from eating.

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