KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — A food maker’s insistence that it only used halal ingredients was no defence against its unauthorised application of the halal logo, Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Sirajuddin Suhaimee said.
Responding to Shake and Bake Café’ statement yesterday, Sirajuddin said using halal inputs did not automatically confer a company halal status or certify it so.
Instead, he said products may only be certified halal by the authority once they meet the comprehensive standards and procedures of Malaysia’s halal certification system.
"Halal certification requires compliance with rigorous standards that include handling, preparation, and processing," he said in a statement.
Shake and Bake is near the heart of a controversy after a “ham and cheese sandwich” it supplied to the KK Mart convenience chain was found to have used the halal logo without authorisation.
On January 10, JAKIM and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) confirmed this during an inspection of the offending item, which also found the firm to not be a holder of the Malaysian Halal Certification (SPHM), as required by law to apply the logo.
KK Mart has suspended all business dealings with the supplier.
Halal certification assures Muslims that products and services, particularly food, meet Islamic dietary laws and are permissible for their consumption.
