CHECKING: Asmawaty (left) and her officers take a look at the confiscated items. — Photos By Jeffery Mostapa
KUCHING: Halal-certified eateries must strictly comply with provisions of the Syariah law to give Muslim customers peace of mind.
Explaining that the halal certification is an assurance to all Muslims that the food are prepared in accordance with Islamic principles, head of Halal Development Unit of Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (Jais) Asmawaty Ahmad warned that offenders would be dealt with severely.
“Failure to comply means the eatery is breaking the law,” she said to reporters at a press conference after a surprise check on one of the famous seafood centres in the heart of the city on Wednesday night.
“It also means heavy fine and penalties to the offenders who break this law and their licence will be revoked,” she said.
On their check at the centre, Asmawaty disclosed that they found two halal-certified eateries there kept non-halal ingredients together with halal food in the refrigerator, which were later confiscated by Jais.
“One of the food ingredients was cooking sauce that did not carry halal logo,” she said.
She added that the ingredients would be sent to the Chemistry Department to check their contents, and the offenders would be brought to court after obtaining the results.
The operation was jointly conducted with officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism.