Pakistan Extends Deadline for labelling Halal food

The federal government has extended the deadline of Halal food labelling on edible products till July 1, 2019 with the approval of federal cabinet after importers made representation to the Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production and Investment.

In February 2019, the federal government made it mandatory to write 'Halal' on imported edible items with immediate effect. The ECC in its decision approved the addition of following conditions to the existing requirements in the Import Policy Order, for import of edible products:
(i) products have at least (2/3rd of the remaining shelf life;
(ii) the ingredients and details of the product (e.g. nutritional facts, usage instructions etc) of food products are required to be printed in Urdu and English language on the consumer packaging;
(iii) the logo of the Halal certification body is printed on the consumer packaging;
(iv) the labelling under conditions will not be in the form of sticker, overprinting, stamp or scratched labelling;
(v) the shipment is accompanied by a "Halal certificate" issued by a Halal certification body, accredited with an Accrediting Body (AB), which is a member of either International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF) or Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC); and
(vi) in order to comply with WTO regulation, similar conditions shall apply to edible products manufactured locally from July 1, 2019 for necessary instructions to be issued to PSQCA and provincial food regulatory authorities.
Reference

Comment:
SANHA welcomes the increasing awareness of governments in Muslim countries to the importance of Halaal. We pray that All?h guides them in their endeavour with sincerity and knowledge to protect, promote and preserve Halaal for the global Ummah.

SANHA Pakistan has independent offices in Karachi and Lahore. They may be contacted at lahore@sanha.org.pk and karachi@sanha.org.pk