Peak body says boycott campaign directed at brands with halal certified products is โmisinformationโ
The peak body for Australian food and drink manufacturers says its members have no plans to ditch halal certification despite threats of a boycott and other sabotage by anti-Islam campaigners.
High-profile brands such as Cadburyโs, Sanitarium, Byron Bay Cookies, Four โN Twenty and Kelloggโs have been targeted for having their products certified for Islamic dietary requirements.
A campaign led by former One Nation candidate Mike Holt has singled out Cadburyโs in particular for a so-called โbuy-cottโ, in which customers are encouraged to buy a product, open the package, and then ask for a refund โ on the grounds that eating halal-certified food offends their beliefs.
He also asks campaigners to make a Christian blessing โover anything a Muslim has picked up from the supermarket shelfโ, claiming this makes the food forbidden to consume under Islamic law.
But James Matthews, a spokesman for the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which represents the chocolate manufacturer and other brands, said there was no โmovement against halal certificationโ among the councilโs members.
โThe campaign is one of misinformation,โ he said, adding the cost of certification was โnegligibleโ compared to the $1.6tn worldwide Islamic market.
He said the strong sentiments were understandable because โeveryone eats and everyoneโs got an opinion about foodโ, but that many of the critics of halal certification had a โone-way viewโ and โare not interested in understanding the actual realityโ.
Critics such as Holt and Kirralie Smith, the Queensland woman behind the website Halal Choices, have claimed that halal certification fees could be used to โfund terrorismโ.
But Smith admitted on ABC radio on Tuesday that she had no evidence for the claim. โItโs reasonable to ask the question, where does the money go here. Thereโs been no investigation to this point, and I think those investigations are required,โ she said.
Mohammad Khan, the head of certifier Halal Australia, said his company was subject to stringent regulations and reporting requirements โjust like any businessโ. Matthews, too, said the companies providing halal certification were โbound by Australian law, including laws regarding terrorism fundingโ.
Another company targeted by anti-halal campaigners, Byron Bay Cookies, said it was unlikely to drop its certification.
โByron Bay Cookies is fortunate to enjoy a healthy export market thatโs allowed us to become one of the larger employers in Byron Bay,โ the companyโs chief operating officer, Keith Byrne, said. โHalal certification is important to our business.โ
