The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has issued on its website a guide for importing halal food and Islamic bodies authorised to issue halal product and halal slaughtering certificates.
The guide represents an important milestone in food control of this kind, and its importance lies in clarifying the requirements of halal, and verifying the validity, accuracy and credibility of halal certificates attesting that the meat, meat products or foods containing meat are of animal origin that have been supervised by one of the issuers of halal certificates licensed by the State of Qatar.
The guide, published in Arabic and English, sets forth the general definitions and requirements for halal food, animal slaughter requirements, halal food and halal slaughter certification forms approved in Qatar, a list of prohibited foods according to Sharia law and a list of technical regulations and halal-related standards. It also contains application forms for authorizing/permitting Islamic bodies to issue halal food/halal slaughtering certificates for exporting food to Qatar.
Halal slaughtering certificate are issued for all types of non-processed meat, while halal certificates are issued for any food products containing meat, fats or any ingredients of animal origin such as gluten, as well as food products carrying halal label / logo. Halal bodies may issue halal/halal slaughtering certificates for processed meat products.
The Department of Food Safety and Environmental Health, Ministry of Public Health, invites all importers and relevant companies to work in accordance with the guidelines to avoid violations. It also affirms the availability of all information and guidelines on the MoPH's website. The guidelines aim at raising awareness of the requirements to ensure imported food compliance to guidelines and avoid its rejection at the port of entry for non-compliance reasons.
As part of the MoPH's keenness to ensure the highest possible level of food safety and facilitate imported food inspection procedures, the Department of Food Safety and Environmental Health invites all importers, being partners in food safety assurance, to register their food products in the food registration system via the Ministry's website, where registration data will be used later in the new electronic food control system. (QNA)
