APEDA drops 'halal' from meat manual

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has removed the word from its ‘Red Meat Manual’ after a social media campaign by Hindu right-wing groups and Sikh organisations against halal certification for products in the country.

The agri-export body has also clarified that there was no condition on the part of the Indian government regarding halal meat.

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“It is a requirement by a majority of the importing countries/Importers. Halal Certification agencies are accredited directly by respective importing countries. No government agency has any role in this,” it shared.

However, the Red Meat Manual of the APEDA, which handles agri-exports under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, read “animals are slaughtered strictly according to halal method to meet the requirement of Islamic countries”, it now says “the animals are slaughtered according to the requirement of importing country/importer”.

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APEDA has also deleted the line, “The animals are slaughtered by halal system under strict vigilance of (a) recognised and registered Islamic body as per the tenets of Islamic Shariyat. The certificate for halal is issued by the representative of registered Islamic body under whose supervision the slaughter is conducted in order to meet the requirement of (the) importing country.”