Belgian Fruit Syrup Faces Boycott Calls over Halal Labelling

THE TELEGRAPH: Move by Belgian syrup factory to enter Islamic markets sparks protests and a row over national identity

A fruit syrup that has been a staple of Belgian kitchens for generations is at the centre of a row over national identity, after its manufacturers applied for ‘halal’ certification.

The makers of Sirop de Liège, a molasses made of stewed apples, dates and pears and known by its distinctive blue and green pot, face a bitter backlash after they sought to tap into overseas Islamic markets.

The Siroperie Meurens, the family business that has been boiling fruit to the same recipe since 1902, faces calls for a boycott and has been inundated with online abuse since it announced the move.

Securing ‘halal’ certification would help the firm to target markets such as Indonesia and Egypt, at a time when the European fruit industry is under pressure due to sanctions on Russia that have halted food exports.

The move would confirm to Muslim consumers that the sticky brown syrup, which is eaten with bread and pancakes, or used as an ingredient in meatball sauces, does not contain pork gelatine. The recipe would stay the same, as would the labelling, the firm said. » | Matthew Holehouse, Brussels | Monday, August 17, 2015

LA MEUSE: Trahison, appel au boycott: rien ne va plus pour le sirop de Liège depuis l'annonce de la certification halal du produit de tradition : Nous vous l’annoncions ce week-end: le sirop de Liège de chez Meurens est désormais certifié «halal». Un label qui va permettre à la siroperie d’Aubel d’augmenter ses exportations. Seulement voilà, pour certains, il s’agit là d’une véritable trahison et la nouvelle a déchaîné les passions sur les réseaux sociaux. » | K. Wuyard | mardi 11 août 2015

Aldi Apologises after Black Pudding Is Incorrectly Labelled as Halal-certified

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Muslim customers were left fuming by the blunder that saw supposedly halal black pudding being sold containing pig blood and skins

A supermarket chain has apologised after a black pudding product was incorrectly labelled as halal-certified.

Muslim customers at Aldi were left fuming by the blunder that saw supposedly halal black pudding being sold containing pig blood and skins, the Mirror reported. Pork is forbidden in Islam.

"This is absolutely outrageous and I am deeply offended by this," Manahil Khan told the Mirror.

"I am pretty sure many others of the Muslim community are also very offended by this.

"It is demoralising and goes against one's religious morals and scripture.... and I speak on behalf of every Muslim and human that does not deserve to be misled by any sort of false claim of halal food or lies about what we consume."

Manufacturer Punjab Pakora, based in Ayr, apologised for the incident, saying it was a printing mistake which had now been rectified, as did Aldi. Read on and comment » | Agency | Monday, May 18, 2015

Move Over Organic – The New Big Business in Food Is Halal

THE INDEPENDENT: This week's Halal Food Festival is attracting interest among a growing group of foodies beyond the Muslim community

Their culinary buzzword is provenance; they know their Jamie from their Nigella; and they have the spare cash to splash on eating out, if they could only find the right restaurants. The catch is that any meat they eat must be halal, on either religious or taste grounds.

Meet the Haloodies, a growing group of food lovers who are bored of curries, fed up with kebabs, and long for nothing more exotic than a shepherd's pie. Their increasing spending power has sparked a race among retailers, wholesalers and canny restaurateurs to carve out a chunk of a market that is worth about £420bn globally.

This week an estimated 20,000 Haloodies will congregate in east London at the Halal Food Festival, the world's first gastronomic celebration of halal produce. All of the UK's major supermarket chains are sending scouts to help them find ways to exploit the trend. Attendees can browse food stalls offering anything from hot dogs and sushi to French and Moroccan dishes without worrying how the meat was killed or even transported.

Imran Kausar, a doctor by training, who masterminded the festival, said British Muslims were no longer "economic migrants trying to make do [but] affluent and aspirational members of the middle class [who wanted to] expand their culinary horizon." He added: "While typical British dishes have got more exotic, Muslims want the reverse. We want regular stuff like shepherd's pie, which we see everywhere but we can't try." Read on and comment » | Susie Mesure | Sunday, September 22, 2013

'Traces of Pork' Found in Prison Food Served as Halal

THE GUARDIAN: Supplier of meat pies and pasties to prisons suspended after FSA informed of contamination

The Ministry of Justice is suspending one of the suppliers of meat to prisons after it discovered that halal pies and pasties sourced from a properly halal certificated supplier may contain traces of non-halal meat.

The products concerned have been withdrawn immediately, a spokesman said.

He added: "All prisons have been informed about this very regrettable incident and we reported this issue to the Food Standards Agency immediately.

"We are taking immediate steps to suspend the contract with the relevant subcontractor."

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "This is an absolutely unacceptable situation and one which we regret greatly. Clearly this must be distressing for those affected and they can be reassured we are doing everything we can to resolve the situation. The prison service is investigating this as a matter of urgency.

The FSA said the incident involved traces of pork. » | Press Association | Friday, February 01, 2013

Halal Meat Controversy in France
Halal meat, or meat slaughtered in line with Muslim tradition, is at the centre of a political controversy.

Quick - a fast-food French restaurant chain - is testing out a new niche market, withdrawing all pork products from the menu and serving only halal meat in some of its branches.

Experts say that with more than 5 million French Muslims who are potential customers, Quick is targeting a booming market: the $7.5bn halal business.

But the mayor of Roubaix, a French town near the northern city of Lille , has launched a law suit against the food chain, arguing that it constituted "discrimination" against non-Muslims.

And Marine Le Pen, the vice-president of the far-right National Front party, has warned of "Islamisation".

Al Jazeera's Estelle Youssouffa reports from Paris. [February 21, 2010]

French Muslims Confused Over Halal Restrictions
TIME: The news suspended forks on their way to mouths, and sent supermarkets rushing to pull goods from shelves. Last month, the website Débat Halal claimed it had evidence that a popular brand of halal-certified poultry sausages marketed in France by a giant international food producer actually contain pork, rendering them forbidden — or haram — to Muslims. The accusation led many French Muslims to question how they can be sure that any of the halal food they buy meets certification standards — only to discover that no single set of standards exists for determining which products are halal and which aren't. Now, some observers are hoping that the haram hubbub may finally push France's Muslim leaders to agree upon a united code for the halal food sector — one of the biggest-booming niche markets in the nation.

The stir began when Débat Halal published a Jan. 16 report saying that tests had detected pork — a substance forbidden under both halal and kosher rules — within halal-branded poultry sausages produced by Herta, a unit of global food giant Nestlé. Counter-tests revealed by Herta a week later found no traces of pork in their Knacki Halal poultry sausages. Nevertheless, on Feb. 1, one of France's largest supermarket chains, Casino, removed the sausages from its stores to run its own test to "guarantee the strictest respect of halal certification." Still, the entire episode led Muslim consumers to wonder about the reliability of all the halal food they buy. >>> Bruce Crumley, Paris | Sunday, February 13, 2011

Waitrose Forced to Ditch Halal Lamb from Duchy Range

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Waitrose is to introduce a range of non-halal lamb products as a response to customers’ concerns about its meat supplies.

Until now, all lamb sold by the store has been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, with a Muslim reciting a prayer in Arabic over the meat.

But Waitrose said last night that, from now on, organic Welsh lamb from its Duchy Originals range – established by Prince Charles to market produce from his estates – will no longer be halal.


Waitrose said they made their decision in order to give customers ‘more choice’. But their reversal of policy comes a week after The Mail on Sunday revealed how most British supermarkets were secretly selling halal meat – especially lamb – without telling customers.

The investigation found that most New Zealand lamb sold in major British supermarkets was halal, meaning that the prayer ‘In the name of Allah, who is the greatest’ is said at the time of slaughter. Stores selling lamb slaughtered according to Islamic law included Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

After inquiries by The Mail on Sunday last week, Waitrose said: ‘We have decided to offer our customers an option to buy lamb which has not received the halal blessing.’

Waitrose said that all their other lamb produced in the UK and New Zealand will continue to be halal without being described as such on the packaging. Continue reading and comment >>> Abul Taher | Sunday, October 03, 2010

'Dutchy Originals' is a company which belongs to Prince Charles.

SHARIAH Alert! Britain Goes Halal... But No-one Tells the Public: How Famous Institutions Serve Ritually Slaughtered Meat with No Warning
MAIL ONLINE: A Mail on Sunday investigation – which will alarm anyone concerned about animal cruelty – has revealed that schools, hospitals, pubs and famous sporting venues such as Ascot and Twickenham are controversially serving up meat slaughtered in accordance with strict Islamic law to unwitting members of the public.

All the beef, chicken and lamb sold to fans at Wembley has secretly been prepared in accordance with sharia law, while Cheltenham College, which boasts of its ‘strong Christian ethos’, is one of several top public schools which also serves halal chicken to pupils without informing them.

Even Britain’s biggest hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, which owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, among many others, has admitted that more than three-quarters of its poultry is halal.

Animal welfare campaigners have long called for a ban on the traditional Islamic way of preparing meat – which involves killing animals by drawing a knife across their throats, without stunning them first – saying it is cruel and causes unnecessary pain.

Sharia law expressly forbids knocking the animal out with a bolt gun, as is usual in British slaughter­houses. Instead, it must be sentient when its throat is cut, and the blood allowed to drip from the carcass while a religious phrase in praise of Allah is recited.

The extent of halal meat consumption, even in areas of Britain with a very small Muslim population, was revealed as the Pope, on his first visit to Britain, expressed fears that the country was not doing enough to preserve traditional Christian values and customs.

In a strongly worded speech to Parliament, he said: ‘There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none.’

But it is animal rights groups which have been most vociferous in their opposition to halal slaughter. Campaign organisation Viva!, whose supporters include Heather Mills and Joanna Lumley, said in a statement: ‘Other practices which may be undertaken for religious reasons, such as polygamy or the stoning of adulterers, are not permitted in the UK.

‘Religious freedom does not override other moral considerations and the suffering caused by this form of slaughter is so severe that it cannot be allowed to prevent action to be taken. Consumers can do their bit by boycotting places that persist in selling meat from unstunned animals.’ Read on and comment >>> Simon McGee and Martin DelGado | Saturday, September 18, 2010

Dhimmitude! Parents’ Fury at Town Hall Plans for Halal-only Menus in Schools
MAIL ONLINE: Parents have expressed fury at plans to serve pupils halal-only menus for school dinners.

In a move which has also enraged animal welfare groups, only meat from animals killed and prepared using Islamic teaching will be allowed at 52 primaries in Harrow.

Critics say the plan puts the needs of Muslim children before those of other faiths, while parents say they have not been consulted over the scheme.

Schools are free to opt in to the programme or look elsewhere for their meals from the start of next month, according to Harrow Council.

The local authority is thought to be the first in England to insist on a halal-only menu apparently after recommendations of dietitians.

According to the 2001 Census, Harrow is one of the most religiously diverse areas in Britain with fewer than 50 per cent of the population Christian, a fifth Hindu and 7 per cent Jewish.

Using the halal method, animals are slaughtered by being slashed across the neck and being left so that the blood drains from the carcass.

The religious ritual, which does not allow the animals to be stunned beforehand, is considered cruel by campaigners and is exempt from animal welfare laws.

Harrow resident Sheila Murphy said: 'I am appalled at Harrow Council’s decision to serve only Halal meat in the borough’s schools. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Thursday, August 05, 2010

Middle-class Muslims Fuel French Halal Boom
THE GUARDIAN: Retailers and restaurants cash in on rapidly expanding and highly profitable market in halal food and drinks

Halal butchery and poultry shelves in a supermarket in Illzach, eastern France. Photograph: The Guardian
Few things define the traditional good life in France better than champagne and foie gras, but few would have thought them symbols of social integration – until now.

A boom in sales of halal products, including alcohol-free bubbly and goose liver paté approved by Islamic law, is being driven by the emergence of an affluent middle class of young Muslims.

Known as the bourgeois – a play on bourgeois and the word beur, slang for a French person of North African descent – these new consumers are behind a rapidly expanding and highly profitable market in halal food and drinks.

With spending power worth an estimated €5.5bn a year, according to the opinion pollsters Solis, these under-40s are forcing international food suppliers to cater for their demands.

Yanis Bouarbi, 33, an IT specialist who started the website paris-hallal.com, which lists restaurants in France serving halal food, says young Muslims are at the heart of a mini social revolution.

"When our parents and grandparents came to France they did mostly manual work and the priority was having enough to feed the family," said Bouarbi, who arrived from Algeria at the age of three.

"But second or third-generation people like me have studied, have good jobs and money and want to go out and profit from French culture without compromising our religious beliefs. We don't just want cheap kebabs, we want Japanese, Thai, French food; we want to be like the rest of you."

The demand for halal products, currently increasing by an estimated 15% a year, has captured the attention of food giants such as the supermarket group Casino, which has stocked an increasing variety of halal foods – mostly meat products – for the last three years. >>> Kim Willsher in Paris | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010

Related:

Various articles on halal foods, etc. >>>

Halal Industrial Park Proposed for South Wales
BBC: An industrial park for Islamic goods and produce, which could mean about 3,000 jobs, might open in south Wales.

News of the proposed £150m Super Halal Industrial Park (SHIP) was revealed at an Islamic finance summit in London.

Mahesh Jayanarayan, chairman of Halal Industries, said Wales was chosen as the project's site for its meat industries and affordable land prices.

The assembly government said they were "tenative proposals" and and it would work closely with the firm.

The firm, a private equity company, said it was raising funds for the venture, which could launch in three to five years.

Mr Jayanarayan told the Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit that Europe has no Halal industrial parks, despite being home to millions of Muslims.

Halal is an Arabic term meaning "permissible" and while it is often associated with meat, it refers to anything that is permissible in the Islamic faith.

The industrial park could create up to 3,000 jobs and would make the UK a landmark Halal centre for the region, Mr Jayanarayan told the finance summit.

It would provide services like storage freezers, a product packing centre, and raw material storage for manufacturers for food production. Meat selection and processing as well as research and development would also be offered.

Mr Jayanarayan said: "If you look at some figures, the halal sector in the UK is worth between £2bn to £4bn, the majority of that is imported.

"You have 2.5 billion people on the planet eating halal food, directly or indirectly," he told the summit.

"This halal market is not going away, it is not some fad. >>> | Tuesday, February 16, 2010

SOUTH WALES EVENING POST: Industrial park plan puts jobs boost on cards: AN industrial park that could create 1,500 jobs is on the cards for a site in Carmarthenshire or Neath. >>> | Tuesday, March 23, 2010

BNP Criticised for Prejudice Over Halal Jobs
SOUTH WALES EVENING POST: THE British National Party has been accused of putting their "narrow prejudice before the chance of good jobs" after vowing to oppose a major development earmarked for the region.

Carmarthenshire and Neath have been named as the preferred home for a proposed £150 million Super Halal Industrial Park, said to promise around 1,500 jobs.

But the BNP say they will fight the plans because the jobs would be given to Muslims.

Writing on our website, Kevin Edwards, BNP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aberavon, said: "If the people of Wales think this will provide employment for them then they must think again. If this is given the go ahead the vast majority of jobs created will have to be allocated to Muslims."

Mr Edwards, a Penygroes community councillor, added: "The Welsh Assembly has a shameful record of handing out grants to companies that have fled as soon as the money has gone.

"When this happens, as it inevitably will, 'the industrial estate' will wind up and there will be 5,000 more Muslims in the UK claiming benefits and living on our doorsteps.

"Only the British National Party will oppose this development."

Criticism of how halal meat is produced has also sparked debate.

Traditionally, halal meat is killed by hand without stunning the animal first, and then blessed by the person doing the job, although some Muslims say a mechanised form is also now acceptable.

Julie Richards, from Pontarddulais, said: "It is absolutely barbaric. Lambs are going to be strung up and bled to death. It is not humane." >>> | Monday, March 29, 2010

The Big Daddy has been banned at 86 KFC restaurants. Photo: Mail Online
Kentucky Fried Chicken Goes Halal
MAIL ONLINE: A diner was left fuming after a KFC restaurant took his favourite meal off the menu because it breached their new halal regulations.

Alan Phillips was told he would have to travel five miles to another branch if he wanted the Big Daddy, a chicken burger, topped with bacon, cheese and salad.

The branch, in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is one of 86 KFC restaurants which is running trials of a scheme where they sell nothing other than halal meat.

The company has taken the burger off the menu because Islamic dietary law forbids Muslims to eat anything which has been prepared on the same premises as pork, which is itself strictly forbidden.

It said it was responding to 'increased demand' for a halal menu in the areas of Britain with growing Muslim populations. KFC diner told 'you can't have bacon in your burger here - we're now halal' >>> Katherine Faulkner | Thursday, March 25, 2010

Uproar in France Over Muslim 'Kosher' Burgers
YNET NEWS: Local Quick fast food chain starts using halal meat only, slaughtered according to Sharia law, in eight of its branches located in large Muslim population centers. French officials protest step, warn of cultural isolationism, discrimination

PARIS – The French campaign against American junk food has been going on for years based on the argument that Americanization best represented by McDonalds destroys traditional French culture.

However, it was the local Quick burger chain that suffered criticism this week. The fast food chain has started serving only beef slaughtered according to Muslim Sharia law - halal meat - in eight of its branches across France. Pork has been removed from the menu and replaced with smoked turkey. The braches [sic] are located in the outskirts of Paris, Marseille and the northern town of Roubaix - all areas containing large concentrations of North-African immigrants.

Quick's management claimed in its defense that the decision was purely financial and had nothing to do with religious considerations. It further stressed that the step was an experimental one, to be reviewed in six months.

The Muslim food market in France is constantly expanding and according to marketing estimates will be worth €5.5 billion by the end of 2010. >>> Gilad Halpern | Friday, February 19, 2010

Allowed by Allah. Acceptable to Allah. Not forbidden: حلال
Halal Is Big Business: Germany Waking up to Growing Market for Muslim Food
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Germany has four million Muslim inhabitants but the market for halal food -- produced according to Islamic law -- is still in its infancy, partly because firms fear the wrath of animal rights groups. But companies are slowly waking up to this fast-growing market.

Gehlenberg is a sleepy village in northern Germany. It has a population of 1,600 and boasts a church, community hall, war memorial and a pub, along with a few wooden crosses by the roadside and a tiny chapel. It's a staunchly Catholic village, but on three days of the week, the Prophet Muhammad makes the rules -- in a white factory building on the outskirts of the village, that is. That is where the Meemken family business produces a broad range of sausage that follows Islamic food standards. The company supplies almost 100 tons of salami and various other types of sausage each week to food retailers in Germany and abroad.

International food companies such as Nestle and Unilever have for years offered a range of products that meet so-called halal food standards. Halal is an Arabic term that means pure, or permissible. The term refers to a way of life that follows Islamic law. German companies are gradually realizing that catering to faith-oriented consumption is a good way to make money. In these times of economic crisis, finding new markets is more tempting than ever.

The potential market for halal food in Germany is huge. An estimated four million Muslims live in Germany, and the community is pre-programmed to grow because Muslims have a higher birth rate than non-Muslims. Halal already accounts for 17 percent of the global food market, according to the World Halal Forum based in Malaysia.

Food Companies Worried About Animal Rights Groups

Market experts say the halal segment is growing faster than any other part of the food market. Sales of food that meets Islamic standards are expected to reach $641 billion in 2010, up from $587 billion in 2004. The European halal food market is expected to reach sales of $67 billion in 2010.

Food companies in other European countries with many Muslim residents have already adapted to their needs. In France, the Casino chain of supermarkets supplies halal meat products. In Britain, halal food is easily found in the top chains like Tesco and Sainsbury's. French delicatessen stores sell halal goose liver pate and British pharmacy retailer Boots sells halal baby food. It's a different story in Germany, where supermarkets offer only a meagre range of halal food. … >>> Daniela Schröder | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Laying Down Sharia Law
HOTELIER MIDDLE EAST: Consumer demand for sharia-compliant hotels is strong, but confusion surrounding the term means many brands are reluctant to commit. Louise Birchall seeks to clarify what it takes to comply.

Two-to-three years ago ‘sharia’ was the buzz word repeated by ambitious, international hotel chains intent on tapping into the rich, intraregional Arab tourism market by offering a unique and traditional Arabic experience.



Eager to differentiate themselves, hotel brands witnessed the success of sharia-compliant banking and investment systems compared to conventional institutions and saw an opportunity to apply the concept to hospitality.

This trend, coupled with an increasing amount of government funding and private money being injected into sharia-compliant developments stirred the interest of hotel investors.

However, today only a handful of the talked-about sharia hotel developments have materialised and experts attribute a lack of progress on the hotel front to the confusion surrounding the term ‘sharia’.

Dubai-based Almulla Hospitality recently unveiled plans for a sharia-compliant brand comprising 30 hotels, but there has been no news of its development and similarly Dubai-based Shaza Hotels’ alcohol-free luxury hotel joint venture with Kempinski Hotels and Guidance Financial Group has yet to open the first of its 30 hotels scheduled to launch in the Middle East over the next 10 years.

Defining sharia 


“The terminology ‘sharia compliant’ is mixed up in the sense a lot of people confuse the term and their practices. For a hotel to be fully sharia compliant, it would need a team of religious advisors on board and it really has to go the whole way,” says V. Five Continents Hospitality Group CEO and founder Richard Abou Jaoude.

The Abu Dhabi-based hotel operator’s portfolio of sharia-compliant properties has grown from two to 14 in the Middle East and North Africa since the company entered the market in 2006.

“It was boom time and we realised we were competing with the top guns of the industry and the first thing that came to mind was how to be different, what is missing in the regional hotel market and how can we make a quick return on investment,” says Jaoude.

At that time few companies had approached the sharia niche and V. Five Continents hoped it could differentiate itself with a three- to four-star plus brand. It also had the backing of international brands such as Ramada and timeshare in companies such as Kerzner.

Finding a niche


According to Jaoude, the brand concept proposed by V. Five Continents was to be an “entirely new one”. The concept encompasses the major parts of sharia, including no alcohol, and other aspects such as no smoking, ‘green’ measures in the building and landscaping, and the promotion of wellness. >>> Louise Birchall | Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Halal Alert! Horror of Horrors! Potato Chips Contain Traces of Alcohol!
THE TIMES: Senior Muslim figures have said that they are shocked that a number of Walkers snacks contain traces of alcohol and eating them is therefore against their religion.



A tiny amount of alcohol is used in some products as a chemical agent to extract flavour.



The use of alcohol was discovered by Besharat Rehman, who owns a halal supermarket in Bradford, and reported in the Eastern Eye. Mr Rehman said: “Our suppliers were unaware of the alcohol. Walkers must make it clear on the packaging so customers can make an informed choice.”



Shuja Shafi, who chairs the food standards committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that he intended to investigate. “Certainly we would find it very offensive to have eaten food with alcohol.” Muslims shocked to learn that crisps contain alcohol >>> By Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

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