European Standard on halal food?
Archived message of the Austrian Standards Institute
Please note that standards, content or links may be out of date. In case of doubt or questions, please contact the Press Office.
A working group convened by the Austrian Standards Institute analyses the feasibility of a European Standard. Its first meeting was held in Vienna in late October 2010.
Vienna (AS prm, 2010-11-04)
In the European Union, halal food generates sales of around 12 to 15 billion euro annually. Halal food is food whose consumption is permitted for Muslims under Islamic law. The French fast-food chain Quick, for example, now offers its customers only halal meat.
This market — 16 million Muslims live in the EU — records strong growth. On the basis of his analyses, Daniel Lucht, Senior Retail Analyst of London-based Verdict Research, concludes that there is a need for a harmonised halal standard in Europe in order to ensure trust and safety both throughout the value creation chain and for the consumers.
- Credit: ASI prm
On 25 October 2010, the first meeting of the new working group “Halal Food” set up by the European Committee for Standardization CEN was convened by the Austrian Standards Institute in Vienna. The members of this working group are experts from various countries, including Turkey as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, it includes representatives of European organisations, such as ANEC, the European consumer voice in standardisation, and the European Livestock and Meat Trading Union. The task of the working group (CEN/BT WG 212) is to analyse the feasibility of a European Standard regulating the requirements for halal food.
One standard for all halal foods
At the first meeting, the members agreed that a future European Standard should cover all foodstuffs and should not be limited to meat products. The suggestion of including products like drugs and cosmetics was rejected for the time being. Moreover, the working group decided to focus on the entire food chain and not merely on parts of it, such as production.
At the meeting, the experts presented and discussed experiences made in the member states to date, e.g. whether the countries have applicable legal regulations and standards, which requirements they contain and which reference documents are used for certification, if any.
Moreover, they began to prepare an overview of Islamic communities and their position in the various European countries. The working group also intends to co-operate with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in order to benefit from its experiences in the development of consensus-based specifications in the field of halal food.
All these efforts serve for preparing the development of a European Standard on halal food that is recognised by Muslims, whose requirements are in line with applicable legislation and that can also be implemented by the actors of the food chain.
In Austria, the ON rule ONR 142000 “Halal food — Requirements for the food chain” was already published in November 2009.
Literature
ONR 142000 Halal food – Requirements for the food chain
