Question: Halal-Certified or Muslim-Owned?

This has happened at least once to all of us at some point. We walk into a cafe that we heard to be Muslim-Owned. What we heard was probably true. But when we look around, what do we really see?

We see non-muslim staff. We see the design and layout of the cafe resembling that of a bar. Sometimes, the cafe itself has items on the menu with fine print stating *contains alcohol*. Or worse still, we realise that there's a bar connected to the cafe, selling all the beverages that we know we shouldn't be consuming.

A quick question to the staff goes like this:-

Qn: "Is the food halal?" Ans: "We are Muslim-Owned"

Or.

Qn: "Is the food halal?" Ans: "Our meat is from a halal supplier"

So, muslim-owned = halal? halal meat supplier = entirely halal food? Not exactly.

To understand the difference, we first have to understand what goes on behind and before an eating establishment / food product attains its halal certification. Every country has its own set of processes, but in general, when broadly summarised, there are 2 major steps.

When an application first comes in, it will involve the certifier looking at a list of ingredients used in the production of that food product.

In the case of restaurants, this would involve the restaurant submitting its entire menu along with all the list of ingredients that it uses for the making of the items on the menu.

For Singapore's MUIS certifications, this would also involve each restaurant keeping track of who its suppliers are. It also requires the restaurants to hang on to the halal certificates of all the products from its suppliers (and all the other paperwork that comes with it).

This list of ingredients can involve simple raw materials like sugar, or rice, but most frequently for pre-packed and processed halal products, this involves the uncommon names of proteins and chemical compounds. Try memorising emulsifier codes and flavouring codes to get a feel of how complicated these processes can get.

With technological advancements in food manufacturing, ingredients are not so simple any more. While working in the halal certifications scene previously, I was trained to be able to decide if this compound warrants further investigations with just one look at the name of the compound, before I forward the application to my superiors. Trust me, having a chemistry degree really helped in this area.

Halal certifying bodies normally have their own database of codes and complicated chemical names of products along with the statuses of "halal" or "haram" or "doubtful" for their own references. They then use their database to decide whether or not to grant the halal status to certain products.

Part of the certification process involves the certifier visiting the production plant to ascertain that there are no additional or dubious products involved in the production. At this juncture, I would like to highlight the level of strictness in halal would also depend on the country / mufti / madzhab that you are in.

In some madzhabs, only the ingredients matter, production process doesn't matter. For other mazhabs, like mine, it matters a whole lot.

So when you want to choose a halal logo to trust, it would be better to trust the one that is originating from your own country / mazhab as they would best understand that level of strictness.

So let's say the application passes Step 1, and it is found that no doubtful or non-halal ingredients are used, the application now goes to step 2, where the certifier visits the production plant.

In the case of an abattoir, halal auditors will look at who is the person doing the cutting. In the case of the production of cheese, or butter, sweets, or packaged products, they will inspect the machines used. Alarms would be raised if auditors find anything doubtful.

At this juncture, let me give a sneak peek as to what halal auditors have seen before, just to illustrate how serious this step is.

For instance, in the production of sweets, the sugar will be spun at high velocity in hollow machines to increase the concentration of the sugar. Usually to ensure that the sugar crystals don't stick to the walls of these hollow machines, its walls are actually lined with lard (pig fat).

Another example is when part of the food production process requires straining or a separation of liquids from a solid. Since pig intestines have been found to have the finest pores that provide the best filtration results and produces a higher quality product, the use of these filters will have to be checked.

So perhaps, just ask yourself if you would be comfortable with eating butter that has been strained using a filter that's made of pig intestines. When you've answered this question for yourself, then your choice of halal certified products over non-halal-certified ones would also follow.

Even though halal standards and requirements differ slightly from country to country, it does give me a little peace of mind knowing that another muslim has already looked at the production process of a certain product before I consume it.

Here's a little teaser of where other pig parts can be found..

Specifically for restaurants, Halal auditors would visit the restaurant itself, including all other areas where the food is produced for patrons of that business - like centralised kitchens or storage facilities - to ascertain that the food production for the patrons of that restaurant meets the halal certification requirements

After obtaining the halal certification, there would be periodic inspections throughout the duration where the halal certification is still valid for the restaurant.

In Singapore, periodic inspections would be conducted by halal officers from MUIS. There are also private businesses that offer these services to restaurants so that their facility is being inspected at a more regular basis to ensure that every part of their operation consistently meets a high level of compliance for the maintenance of their Halal Certification.

Now that you understand the Halal Certification process, it’s time for the age-old question:

Short answer: Yes, there is.

Firstly, a muslim-owned enterprise hasn't necessarily undergone the rigorous and stringent process of halal certification, helmed by halal auditors.

Halal auditors are bound by standards set by their organisations, which are meant to be the knowledge-hub for halal matters for the community. For a muslim-owned establishments, the halal status of the food served is entirely dependent on the muslim owner.

Sadly, in my adventures with Halalfoodhunt, I have found instances where muslim-owned establishments sell alcohol, involve themselves in the sale of non-halal dishes, even though they purchase meat from halal suppliers.

Without highly alert muslim chefs, managers and owners, or auditors to do thorough spot checks on eating establishments, we won't really know what's happening in the kitchen before our food is served to us.

On another note, let's think well of our muslim brothers and sisters, and recognise that for most cases, they would not intentionally involve themselves in the sale of non-halal food.

In my adventures with Halalfoodhunt, while meeting with restaurant owners, I get very heartened when the restaurant owners themselves talk passionately about the subject of halal.

They will tell me where their cheese comes from, and sometimes also who their suppliers are. Sometimes, I even get warnings of which brands to avoid because of the halal risks involved with those brands!

One conversation with a Moroccan chef that I particularly remember went like this - "Sometimes they add wine in (this moroccan dish) to appeal to the non-muslim crowd, so you muslim, don't eat. And cheese, if you want good halal cheese, tell me, I will give you my supplier, don't buy from the non-halal ones from outside, you know what it contains, right?"

Halal-educated sellers will be better equipped to ensure the halal status of the food items that they serve, and halal-educated buyers will in turn become more discerning in their purchasing habits.

Getting the halal certificate is entirely voluntary, and it comes with a whole set of requirements. So if these requirements put a strain on your muslim-owned business, then your next option is to ensure that you are well-educated in the areas pertaining halal, so that you are able to make better decisions regarding your food suppliers on behalf of your muslim consumers :)

PS: If you are a muslim owner of a restaurant that is not halal-certified, and you're keen to learn about halal risk factors so that your restaurant is better equipped at choosing halal ingredients and suppliers, visit HCS Consultants - they conduct classes for businesses going for halal certification, and also the general public wanting to learn about halal.