Historical Background
Keeping in mind the importance of a pure and
Halaal diet in the life of a Muslim, community organisations had
established certain activity to guide Muslims in terms of their diet and
monitor various areas of the Halaal industry as a service to the
Halaal-conscious consumer.
In the past, due to the isolated placement of Muslim communities,
purchases were made mainly from Muslim traders. With the removal of
apartheid, the consequent proliferation of Muslims throughout South
Africa, the deregulation of the meat industry, the drastic changes in
shopping habits & eating trends, the importation of meat and related
products arising as a result of the repeal of sanctions and the
indiscriminate issuing of Halaal certificates by unscrupulous
organisations for monetary gain, the Halaal industry was
showing signs of rapid degeneration. It had therefore become incumbent to
establish a nationally represented Halaal body.
Previously a number of small and largely regional organisations
purported to certify products as Halaal. Many of these organisations had
neither the resources nor the management capacity to adequately address
the issue. They were, however, established with the sole object of
generating income from the so-called Halaal certification process.
Many products that bear Halaal certification marks have been discovered
by the Muslim community to be deceptive in that the prescribed
supervision and certification procedures have not been adhered to. This
led to widespread confusion, suspicion and dissatisfaction at both
industry and consumer level.
Prior to the formation of SANHA, Halaal
certification was a fragmented approach in which differences of policy
between the certifying bodies were exploited, This led to the word "Halaal"
being abused at the expense of the Halaal-conscious consumer.
As a result of the problems set out above, the only solution was to
bring about an amalgamation of all role players in the monitoring and
certification of Halaal. This arduous and momentous task reached
fruition after almost two years of vigorous consultation and
negotiation. 95% of stake holders embraced this noble national
initiative and against all odds SANHA was finally launched on 20th
October 1996.
Some Core Objectives
SANHA’s objectives inter alia are to:
- Develop a uniform Halaal standard approved by mainstream Ulama (Muslim
Theologians);
- Protect the rights of the Halaal-conscious consumer to maintain a Halaal lifestyle;
- Empower and educate both the consumer and the industry with regard to Halaal dietary law and manufacturing procedures;
- Eliminate temptation by unscrupulous organisations and enterprises to exploit the Halaal end-user.
- Increase the variety and accessibility to Halaal products;
- Certify products which comply with Halaal requirements and provide on-going
monitoring and logistical support to Halaal certified companies;
Commitment
- To develop and implement effective
control and monitoring systems thereby guaranteeing to the highest
possible standards that products labelled "Halaal" are truly Halaal compliant.
- To promote and implement effective quality systems which encourages
the participation of all Muslim consumers in the policing of the Halaal industry.
- To build relationships across the mainstream Ulama thereby
generating the highest possible uniform standards for the certification of Halaal products.
- To develop National and International collaborative relationships in
order to enhance and promote the Halaal industry.
- To Maintain a quality service to the industry which embraces the Halaal certification programme.
- To protect and nurture the right of the Halaal-conscious consumer.
- To act against transgressors in a vigorous and transparent manner.
- To develop, train and support its staff in the delivery of
quality products and service to the industry.
