AU: Senate to investigate halal certification as small businesses urged to “put the facts on the table”
Smart Company: The Federal Parliament’s Economics Reference Committee will undertake a six-month inquiry into food certification schemes, including halal certification, after the Senate supported a motion by South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi on Wednesday afternoon.
Bernardi has been a fierce critic of practices associated with halal certification of feed products in Australia and told the Guardian yesterday, I “keep getting told any number of things about certification schemes and I don’t know what’s true and what’s not true, so I want to establish the facts”. The inquiry, which will run until November, will not be confined to halal certification only, with the committee tasked with also investigating certification schemes related to organic, kosher and genetically modified food, as well as “general food safety certification schemes”. It has also been asked to uncover details about the fees associated with certification schemes, the importance of food certification schemes for exporters, and how much information is available to the general public about the certification process.