Legislature Urges Halal Food Regulations

Beijing - The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, will urge the State Council to promptly formulate Halal food regulations, according to a report passed last Friday.

According to the report's findings, the NPC Ethnic Affairs Committee submitted for deliberation the 'Bill to Formulate Halal Food Management Law,' passed at the conclusion of the bimonthly meeting of the NPC Standing Committee.

The submitted bill was at the fifth session of the Eleventh National People's Congress held on March 31.

It said that violations involving Halal food have arisen over time, and the lack of legislation has hindered the sector's law enforcement, recommending accelerating the relevant legislation.

The Ethnic Affairs Committee supported the relevance of this bill, saying that China has ten ethnic minorities who consume Halal food, totaling more than 20 million people.

It is crucial for enterprises that regulate Halal food to earnestly respect the dietary habits of these ethnic groups, in order to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests and strengthen ethnic unity and social stability, according to the committee.

Therefore, it is recommended that the NPC Standing Committee urge the State Council, or cabinet, to formulate Halal food regulations, and that the legislation should consider drawing on experience for later implementation of the State Council's regulations.

The report also indicated that the central government has invested significant efforts in drafting Halal food regulations, with the relevant ethnic groups having high expectations for the regulations, people said.

'Halal' refers to food permitted for consumption under Islamic law.