哈拉勒标签:穆斯林的食品许可证(II)

穆斯林遵循严格的膳食指南，只准许食用满足哈拉勒要求的食品。据Bob Mok的专栏文章称，哈拉勒认证过程缺乏透明度且不乏欺骗伎俩。它虽受到某些宗教组织的认同和拥护，但却遭到其他宗教信仰人士的反对和抨击。欲参照前文可以点击: http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/37171

Muslims follow strict dietary guidelines and are only allowed to consume foods that meet Halal requirements. According to Bob Mok’s columns,  Halal certification lacks transparency and may embed deceptive practices. It is embraced by certain religious groups, but faces backlashes from other faith believers. For readers who want to review the earlier article, they can go to: http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/37171
                                                      


在上一篇文章中，我们已经了解了“哈拉勒”和“哈拉姆”的含义，并探讨了哈拉勒认证体系。

Last time, we talked about the meaning of “HALAL” and “HARAM”. The HALAL certification system was also discussed.


在本文中，我们将探讨一些涉及哈拉勒认证的系统性问题。

We will now discuss some of the systematic issues associated with HALAL certifications.


在加拿大，ISO 质量认证注册机构需要接受国家机构（加拿大标准委员会）的审计。虽然“哈拉勒认证注册机构”的功能与ISO 质量认证注册机构类似，但是在涉及监管部门时它们之间的区别就会立即呈现，因为并没有上级国家机构监督哈拉勒认证注册机构的工作。换句话说，也就是没有人监管相关的工作质量，审计员和检查员的资质，标准规范，以及发放哈拉勒认证证书的机构的文件保管方式。

In Canada, ISO Quality Registrars are subject to audits by a National organization (Standards Council of Canada). While the functionality of the “HALAL registrars” are similar to the ISO Quality System registrars, the similarity quickly ends when you look up-stream – there are no national organization up-stream to oversee the work of the HALAL registrars. In other words, no one is looking after the quality of work, qualification of auditors and inspectors, specification standards, and documentation retentions of the organizations issuing HALAL Certificates!


目前加拿大有数百个哈拉勒肉品店和餐馆，但其中绝大部分都未曾在店铺内向消费者展示他们的哈拉勒认证证书，以证明其认证有效。这些有效期为一年的认证证书可能早就过期，或是根本就没有进行更新。

There are currently hundreds of HALAL meat stores and restaurants in Canada.  The vast majority of these establishments are not displaying their HALAL certificates on location for the consumers to confirm validity of certification. These annual certificates can be expired or simply not renewed any more.


这意味着穆斯林消费者必须自己去判断店铺是否符合哈拉勒认证，而这无疑是非常艰巨的任务。当然，其他一些可能并不愿意光顾哈拉勒店铺的非穆斯林消费者也同样无法确定自己进入的是否是哈拉勒认证店铺！由于经哈拉勒认证的产品并未强制要求打上认证标记，因此一些哈拉勒认证公司亦选择不展示或使用相关标记。对此人们只能猜测这也许是因为他们不想让其他非穆斯林消费者知晓他们的哈拉勒认证信息，以免自己会上社交网站的“抵制”名单。

This means that the Muslim consumers have to determine the HALAL status of an establishment, and it can become a daunting task. Of course, other Non-Muslim consumers who may not want to patronize a HALAL establishment also cannot ascertain whether it is a “HALAL” certified establishment! Since the application of certification logos are not mandatory on products that are HALAL certified, there are HALAL certified companies who choose not to display or apply these logos. One can only presume that they do not want to alert other Non-Muslim consumers to their “HALAL” certified status and place them on “Boycott” lists available on social media.


和其他所有行业一样，加拿大的哈拉勒行业也存在许多欺诈行为。据称，一些哈拉勒肉品店和餐馆都是从普通超市购买肉类产品，然后再当作“哈拉勒”肉品出售。另外，还有许多餐馆同时出售“哈拉勒”和“非哈拉勒”食品，他们虽然有所谓的哈拉勒类菜单，但其中并未标明哪些菜品是真正的哈拉勒食品，哪些是“非哈拉勒”食品。此外，如果餐馆未曾认真按书面指令操作，那么在其烹饪猪肉时也有可能令哈拉勒食品受到交叉污染。

As with any industry, there are many deceptive practices taking place in the HALAL industry in Canada.  Allegedly, there are HALAL meat stores and restaurants that purchase meat from conventional supermarkets and sell it as “HALAL”.  Many restaurants sell both “HALAL” and “NON_HALAL” and have so-called partial HALAL menus and do not clearly label which menu items are in fact HALAL and which are “NON-HALAL”.  There is also a chance of cross-contamination of HALAL foods when Pork is also being cooked on the premises if written procedures are not meticulously implemented.


还有许多餐馆虽然声称自己是手工杀鸡，甚至会向消费者收取手工杀鸡的费用，但实际上他们都是使用机器杀鸡。在加拿大，绝大部分餐馆都是使用机器杀鸡。此外，许多餐馆还会定期更换供应商，并且会在周末产品脱销时购买那些来源不详的肉品。此外，哈拉勒肉品供应商和经销商还存在某些不良行为。

There are many restaurants which claim that they are using hand slaughtered chicken and are even charging customers for the price of hand slaughtered chicken, whereas in reality it is machine slaughtered. The vast majority of restaurants in Canada use machine slaughtered chicken.  Restaurants regularly switch their suppliers and buy their meat from questionable sources when they run out on the weekends. This does not even include the questionable practices of the HALAL meat suppliers and the distributors.


总而言之，目前缺乏足够的监管或审计过程以监督那些经过“认证”的机构是否存在行为违规。此外，允许“认证”公司对“选择性”产品进行认证，也令本身存在漏洞的控制系统雪上加霜。

To put it into proper perspective, there is just not enough policing or auditing for monitoring compliance once an establishment is “certified”. Allowing the certification of “selective” products within a “certified” company also compounds an already leaky control system.


除此之外，哈拉勒认证机构还涉及其他指控。在2007-2008年，哈拉勒主要认证注册机构ISNA被美国司法部在两宗涉及通过救援及发展圣地基金会（HLF)为哈马斯筹集数百万元资金的联邦案件中被列为同谋犯，并最终被判所有控罪成立。此外，一些报刊文章也持续质疑流向慈善机构和组织的大量哈拉勒认证费收入可能与中东不同的交战派别有染。

There are other allegations associated with the HALAL certification organizations. In 2007-2008, a major HALAL registrar ISNA was named by the US Justice Department as a co-conspirator in two federal trials dealing with the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas through Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and found guilty of all charges. Newspaper articles continue to question the flow of large sums of money raised from HALAL certification fees to charities and organizations connected to different warring groups in the Mideast.



哈拉勒认证对消费经济造成的负面影响之一，就是哈拉勒认证的所有费用都被转嫁到97%非穆斯林人口头上。除了肉类产品，哈拉勒认证还涉及巧克力、奶酪、冰激凌等许多不同种类的食品。有些人可能会问，为什么这些食品也被纳入其中？还记得我们第一次解释“哈拉勒”的含义时，曾谈到“酒精”及其他毒品等“不被接受的”（ 哈拉姆）的食品成分么？

One negative aspects of HALAL certification to the consumer economy is the entire cost of certification getting pass onto the 97% of non-Muslim population. HALAL Certification also covers many different kinds of food stuff besides meats – chocolates, cheeses, ice creams to name a few. Some may ask, why those? Remember when we first explained “HALAL”, we talked about the “impermissible” (HARAM) of ingredients such as “alcohol” and other intoxicants?


最近，我的一个从事肉品加工业务的朋友为我提供了一个有关“哈拉勒”隐蔽支出的例子。作为当地大学食堂和餐厅的一个供应商，他必须遵守的一个新强制性要求就是每批烤肉都必须提交哈拉勒认证证书。而其店铺生产的牛肉糜则面临更大困难，因为这些牛肉糜是由三种不同的牛肉组成，因此所有成分都必须进行哈拉勒认证。由于店铺同时经营“哈拉勒”和“非哈拉勒”肉品，因此在进行库存管理时还需格外小心。而在店铺涉及这种混合产品时，也必需提交哈拉勒认证证书。

Recently, an example of hidden costs of “HALAL” is provided by one of my meat processing friends. As a supplier to the cafeteria and restaurants at the local university, a new requirement was imposed to submit HALAL certificate along with each shipment of meat roasts. The greater difficulties come with the production of ground beef at his shop. Ground beef is made up of 3 different cuts of beef and all have to be HALAL certified. Since the shop deals with both “HALAL” and “NON-HALAL” meats so extra care has to be taken with inventory control. Certificates also have to be submitted with this mixed product.


因此，店铺必须安排特定时间加工相关肉品，以免猪肉糜等其他“非哈拉勒”肉品可能造成交叉污染。此外，店铺必须彻底清洗绞肉机，在加工和包装哈拉勒肉品期间还必须按要求将猪肉收好。大学的厨房工作人员每周还会前往店铺现场审核店家的操作，虽然这会导致店铺的生产耗费额外的时间和成本，但其为了保持长期客户只得按要求行事。

The shop has to schedule a specific time to do the grinding so as to avoid the possibility of cross-contamination by another “NON-HALAL” product – ground pork. The grinding machine has to be washed thoroughly and pork has to be put away during this grinding and packaging period to comply with requirements. Every week, the University kitchen staff representative comes along and spot audit his operations. This is adding extra time and costs to his production and he is only doing this to keep a long-time customer.


在上述例子中，相关大学的政策规定其居住区内的餐厅和厨房只供应哈拉勒肉品，但却未专门将此信息告知公众，并给予他们选择的权利。在许多人看来，这种自主遵约做法只有利于小部分校园人口，而忽视大多数人利益的无异于使用偷偷摸摸的手段应对非常敏感的宗教问题。

In the example given above, the university’s policy dictates that only HALAL meat is to be served by its restaurants and kitchens in its residence facilities. It does not go out of its way to convey this to the public and give them their right to choose. This self-compliance practice will only benefit a small percentage of the campus population and disregarding the majority is considered by many as an underhanded approach to a very sensitive religious issue.


目前，其他宗教信仰人士抨击说，他们未被告知某些店铺只供应或烹饪哈拉勒肉品。如果他们事先知晓这一点，那他们就可以行使自己的权利，不去购买或食用（出于宗教原因） 曾供奉给其他神明的肉品。

There are now backlashes from members of other faiths who feel that they are not informed that only “HALAL” meats are supplied or cooked at certain establishments. If they would have known about this, then they can exercise their rights not to purchase or eat meats previously offered to other deities (for religious reasons).


公司为占据虽然“很小”但却不断发展壮大的加拿大穆斯林市场而获得哈拉勒认证证书。而对于那些会向一些穆斯林国家出口产品的国际公司来说，哈拉勒认证可能更具意义。但对于其他公司来说，他们更应该考虑非穆斯林加拿大人的感受，并采取措施确保“哈拉勒”活动及认证过程具透明度，而不是疏远现有客户群中的大部分消费者。

Companies are getting “HALAL” certifications to capture a “small” but growing market of Muslims in Canada. It may make sense for international companies if they also export their products to some Muslim countries. For others, they should consider the feelings of Non-Muslim Canadians and take steps to ensure that they are transparent with their “HALAL” activities and certifications and not alienating the majority of their established customer base.