KOTA KINABALU: Consumers in the State have been advised to be more careful when buying products which are claimed to be halal.
Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nasir Tun Sakaran yesterday revealed that many products were still using halal logo not recognized by the Department of Justice Islam Malaysia (JAKIM).
He said the Muslim consumers need to be more aware and choose carefully when buying food products, beverages and other daily items.
“Not all products with halal logo actually fulfill the criteria that are supposed to be verified by JAKIM.
“There are operators who copy and misuse the logo to lead the customers to believe that the items are certified halal products when in fact they are not,” he said without revealing the number of such cases in Sabah.
Speaking at a press conference after the launch of State-level halal seminar here yesterday, Nasir advised the public to avoid products with suspicious halal logo or when they are not sure of the content or ingredients used.
According to him, irresponsible operators were able to take advantage of their customers due to their lack of awareness of the issue and not practising their rights as consumers.
Since the implementation of Trade Description Act 2011, he said various measures have been taken to address the issue, including standardising the halal logo for more effective enforcement.
However, he said consumers need to play their role by choosing only products with authentic logo and reporting any suspicious products with halal logo to the authority.
To a question, Nasir said JAKIM was also scrutinising the status of halal products imported from several countries into Malaysia.
He added that the agency provides a list of foreign halal logos that it recognises in its website.
About 500 participants attended the seminar to discuss halal certification.
Also present was Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) director Datuk Amri Suratman.