Muis instructs halal certificate holders here to stop importing meat from Australian abattoir
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has asked halal certificate holders here to stop importing meat from an Australian abattoir, after it found problems with its products.
The council has found reasonable grounds to conclude that Thomas Foods International Lobethal (TFIL) has compromised the halal integrity of the meat, it said on Tuesday (May 31).
This means that the meat from TFIL is not considered halal, and is not fit for consumption under Muslim law.
Muis said: "Our findings are based on established facts and inputs from competent authorities." It did not specify what the grounds were.
It also said it is in contact with certificate holders who have been importing meat from TFIL to obtain alternative halal-compliant supplies.
It added that it will be conducting checks to ensure compliance by its certificate holders, and stressed that any use of non-halal compliant supplies would be in breach of Muis halal standards.
On May 16, Muis said in a Facebook post that it was investigating allegations against TFIL, after the Malaysian authorities suspended a slaughtering approval granted to it.
Malaysian media outlets had reported earlier in May that the suspension of approval followed alleged violations of halal slaughtering procedures.
Muis had said then that it was working with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to ascertain relevant information on TFIL from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
It had also said that the abattoir is accredited by the SFA to export meat to Singapore.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the head of the council halal supply network, Mr Sharifuddin Mohamed Ali, reiterated Muis' findings, and thanked the Muslim community for its understanding on the matter.
"Muis is highly committed to maintaining the integrity of the supply of halal food to the Singapore Muslim community, and will continue to provide updates and advice to the community in this respect," he said.
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