Algeria: Halal certification mandatory as from June 2017

 By Adel Benguessoum

The “Halal” certification, made compulsory for foodstuffs under an interministerial decree, will be applied gradually as from June 2017, said Tuesday in Algiers the Director General of the Algerian Institute of Standardization (IANOR), Djamel Hales .

“June 2017 will mark the official start of the compulsory certification “Halal” for foodstuffs after the précising the list of products concerned by this standard,” Hales said at the El Moudjahid newspaper’s Forum.

The concerned list of foodstuffs will be set “very soon” by the National Committee to monitor certification and marking “Halal”, chaired by the Ministry of Commerce, said the same official.

In addition to the Ministry of Commerce, this committee is made up of the Ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Health and Religious Affairs, as well as public bodies and institutions (Islamic High Council, Algerian Control Center for Quality and packaging, Pasteur Institute of Algeria …).

The main task of this Committee is to examine and give opinion on the “Halal” certification procedures as well as the “Halal” food regulation.

As for IANOR, it is responsible for determining the characteristics of the “Halal” label, its identification and the conditions under which it was granted and designated.

For imported products, the “Halal” certificate of conformity must be issued by authorized bodies in their country of origin and recognized by the “Halal” Certification and Marking Monitoring Committee.