Trading information: Ministry unaware of any import of prohibited products

Desires to set up Pakistan Halal Authority through an act of parliament.

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is not aware of any haram or forbidden products being sold in the country at present. But different edible products are tested at the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), when requested, to confirm that they have no prohibited ingredients.

Minister of Science and Technology Zahid Hamid stated this in the National Assembly while responding to a question asked by a member, Syed Imran Ahmad Shah.

Shah asked whether any mechanism existed in the country to determine whether the food items imported and sold in the country were halal.

“According to the Trade Policy 2012-15, the import of all edible products is subject to the condition that they are free of any haram element or ingredient,” Hamid said, adding the PCSIR Lahore had the capability to provide testing services to the public and private sectors to examine product content.

In order to establish an effective formal mechanism, the ministry intends to set up Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) through an act of parliament.

Hamid added that a draft of PHA Act 2014 had been prepared in consultation with relevant ministries and provincial governments, which would be submitted to parliament after completing formalities.

“Following its establishment, the ministry will be able to promote import and export, trade and commerce with foreign countries and inter-provincial trade in halal articles,” he said.

The minister also stated that the PCSIR lab in Lahore was established in January this year to support local industries and regulatory authorities for the export and import of halal items. Furthermore, similar halal food authentication laboratories are being established at the PCSIR complex in Karachi and Peshawar.

Hamid further said the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), being the national accreditation body, had taken the initiative of launching the Halal Accreditation Scheme on January 31, 2012.

“The decision was taken according to the Pakistan Standard 4992-2010, in line with the requirements of halal guidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Standards and Meteorology Institute of Islamic Countries for the recognition and acceptability of halal certification bodies,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2014.

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