读者欲参照前文可点击:

For readers who want to review the earlier articles, they can go to:

http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/37675；http://chinesenewsgroup.com/news/37171

在本文中，我会向读者介绍一些“哈拉勒”认证公司，以及那些为了占据市场份额而自愿满足“哈拉勒”要求的企业所遭遇的困境。

In this article, I would like to bring the readers up to speed on some of the difficulties experienced by “HALAL” certified companies and those who try to gain market share by being voluntarily “HALAL” compliant.

在2014年3月，由于马来西亚吉百利公司（哈拉勒认证巧克力制造商）在马来西亚出售的“哈拉勒”产品中被检测出猪DNA，引发了穆斯林社区的大规模抵制。该检测结果是来自马来西亚卫生部在当年二月对商店货架上的商品进行的抽检。

In May 2014, Cadbury Malaysia (a HALAL certified chocolate producer) created quite a stir in the Muslim population when Pig DNA was found in their “HALAL” product in Malaysia. This discovery was made during a random surveillance by the Health Ministry in Februaryon products taken from store shelves.

虽然吉百利随后召回相关产品，并设法完成调查，但仍有20个穆斯林团体共同召开记者会坚持要求对吉百利加以严惩，并指责其已“超越底线”。

While Cadbury was effecting a recall of products and trying to complete its investigation, twenty Muslim groups came together to insist on strict measures for Cadbury, saying that it had "crossed the line" at a news conference.

吉百利被指在穆斯林消费的食品中添加“哈拉姆”成分以削弱他们的信仰，从而背叛了全马穆斯林。其中有一个穆斯林团体甚至呼吁对吉百利发起“圣战”，这个词在阿拉伯语里意思是“斗争” 。还有一个穆斯林团体则呼吁对吉百利处于重罚或是关闭其马来西亚工厂。

Cadbury was accused of betraying Muslims by putting ”haram” elements through the foods they consume to weaken them.  “jihad” was called for against Cadbury by one of the groups which literally means "struggle”. Another group called for a hefty fine or a shutdown of the Malaysian plant.

最终，马来西亚伊斯兰教发展署(Jakim)表示，其检测的11个吉百利榛仁牛奶巧克力、吉百利杏仁牛奶巧克力以及来自该公司工厂其他产品的新样品均未检出猪DNA。Jakim（与卫生部无关的实体）是马来西亚负责确保相关产品遵守“哈拉勒”要求的唯一机构，其实际上也是哈拉勒认证的国家注册机构。

Eventually, Malaysia's Islamic Development Department (Jakim) said none of the 11 new samples it tested of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Hazelnut, Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond and other products from the company's factory had shown positive results for porcine DNA. Jakim (an entity not related to the Health Ministry) is the only body in Malaysia tasked with ensuring products are “HALAL” compliant, in effect the national registrar of HALAL certifications.

但Jakim同时宣布，针对吉百利公司两款涉事产品的哈拉勒认证仍处暂停状态，以等待进一步的检测结果及对其供应链的调查结果出炉。该机构进一步指出，二月份的检测结果可能对吉百利不公平，因为一些产品可能是在离开工厂后的流通环节里遭到污染。

Jakim declared that Cadbury's halal certification for the two products would remain suspended pending further tests and investigations of its supply chain. It further stated that the February tests might not have been fair to Cadbury since the products could have been contaminated after leaving the factory.

但尽管如此，一个呼吁马来西亚穆斯林抵制吉百利产品的穆斯林消费者团体表示除非马来西亚卫生部认同Jakim的最新检测结果，否则该组织的立场不会改变。实际上对低等哈拉勒食品可能会危害吉百利公司在穆斯林市场的销售的担心不仅仅限于马来西亚，而在全球最大的穆斯林国家印度尼西亚以及未来数年内的中东等国也都面临同样的担忧。

Nevertheless, a Muslim consumer group that called on Malaysians to boycott Cadbury products said that it would not reverse its stance unless the health ministry concurs with the new results released by Jakim. Concerns over halal food standards could jeopardise Cadbury’s sales in Muslim markets that are larger than Malaysia, such as Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, and in the Middle East for years to come.

在美国，一名消费者在2011年发起一宗集体诉讼，这起诉讼覆盖所有自2005年9月以来曾在两家麦当劳餐厅购买过打哈拉勒广告（并非哈拉勒认证而只是符合哈拉勒要求）的麦香鸡三明治或麦乐鸡产品的消费者。诉讼指控这两家餐厅“多次”销售非哈拉勒食品，并称其所提供的证据信息经“熟悉库存的消息来源证实”。

In the United States, a Class Action Law suit was filed by a customer in 2011, technically covering anyone who bought the halal-advertised (although not HALAL certified and only HALAL compliant) McChicken sandwich or Chicken McNuggets products since September 2005 from two McDonald’s restaurants. Claiming substantiated information “confirmed from a source familiar with the inventory", the suit alleged that the restaurants had sold non-halal food "on many occasions".

目前大约有15万穆斯林生活在底特律地区。根据2010年的人口普查数据显示，在迪尔伯恩市的近10万居民中，有超过40%是阿拉伯裔，其中主要是穆斯林。

Approximately 150,000 Muslims live in the Detroit area. According to 2010 census figures, more than 40% of Dearborn’s nearly 100,000 residents are of Arab ancestry and predominantly Muslims.

麦当劳的律师麦克尼尔在今年年初举行的聆讯中表示，调查和谈判已经证明如果存在问题，那也只是“孤立和罕见个案”。我们只能猜测这是否是对部分指控的默然，尽管其尚未经过法庭证实。

McDonald's attorney Thomas McNeill said during a hearing earlier this year that the investigations and negotiations proved that if a problem arose, "it was isolated and rare." We can only guess if that is a silent admission that some parts of the allegations are true, although not proven in court.

在2013年1月，麦当劳与相关消费者、一个穆斯林经营的底特律诊所、迪尔伯恩市的阿拉伯美国国家博物馆及律师达成$70万元和解。但一些穆斯林对该和解协议并不满意，他们表示赔偿金应该给予个人消费者，而不是组织机构。一名律师认为该和解协议无异于幕后协议，它以误食非哈拉勒肉品的消费者的利益为代价而使两个组织机构以及律师获利，表示“这是给社区的一记响亮耳光”。

In January 2013, a $700,000 settlement was made to the customer,a Muslim-run Detroit health clinic, Dearborn's Arab American National Museumand lawyers. Some Muslims didn’t like the settlement, saying the money should have gone to individual customers, not organizations. One Attorney labeled the settlement a backroom deal meant to enrich two organizations and attorneys at the expense of people who mistakenly ate non-halal meat. "It's a slap in the face of the community".

麦当劳在和解协议中否认有任何过错，并且也未有提及停止销售哈拉勒食品。麦当劳的管理层在和解通知中称，该公司“拥有精心设计的系统以准备和提供哈拉勒食品，例如在哈拉勒鸡肉产品上贴上标签，并且在哈拉勒专用区进行储存、冷藏和烹饪。”此外，该公司还对准备哈拉勒食品的员工加强了培训，“要求他们严格遵守程序”。

McDonald’s denied any wrongdoing in the settlement agreement, which made no mention of stopping the sale of halal food. McDonald’s Management stated in the settlement notice that it “has a carefully designed system for preparing and serving halal such that halal chicken products are labeled, stored, refrigerated, and cooked in halal-only areas." The company added it trains its employees on preparing halal food and "requires strict adherence to the process."

在达成和解协议不久后，涉事的两家麦当劳餐厅就不再提供哈拉勒麦香鸡三明治或麦乐鸡，以便能“专注于麦当劳的全国核心菜单”。

Shortly after the settlement, the two restaurants no longer offered a halal McChicken sandwich or Chicken McNuggets in order "to focus on McDonald’s national core menu."

诸如麦当劳所面临的诉讼，以及其他一些声称提供“无麸质”食品的公司所遭遇的官司，或许可以解释为什么有越来越多的全国连锁店不愿推出自己的哈拉勒产品。

Lawsuits such as the one that McDonald's have faced, and the ones that other companies claiming to serve "gluten-free" food have encountered, could be one reason why more national chains have not launched their own halal offerings.

目前，穆斯林对提供哈拉勒牛肉和鸡肉产品的全国大型食品连锁店并没有太多的选择。因此他们不得不选择诸如鱼和蔬菜等安全而又天然的哈拉勒食品。

For now, Muslims do not have too many options when it comes to major national food chains offering HALAL beef and chicken. They will have to stick to safe, naturally qualified “HALAL” foods like fish and vegetables.

我在上周参加一个FOOD Show节目时，曾与一些食品制造商探讨他们对产品进行“哈拉勒”认证的目的。当我询问他们是否知道加拿大的穆斯林人口比例时，令人惊讶的是有许多人回答远远高于3% ，而其他人则根本不知道。而他们之所以认为“哈拉勒”认证很有必要的原因是因为其他一些竞争对手已经进行认证。

I was at a FOOD Show last week and talked to a number of food manufacturers about intentions of getting their products “HALAL” certified. I asked them if they can tell me the percentage of Muslim population in Canada. Amazingly, many overshot the 3% figure and others simply would not know. All of them expressed the concern for the need to achieving “HALAL” certification solely because some of their other competitors have done it already.

接受“哈拉勒”认证或宣布符合“哈拉勒”要求堪称非常棘手和代价高昂的任务。正如上述一些实例，当公司未能始终如一地确保自己按规定行事时，它们就会面对诉讼和不良后果。因此，企业在着手对产品进行哈拉勒认证之前，必须先在预期的市场份额和潜在的不良后果之间找到平衡点。

Getting “HALAL” certified or declaring “HALAL” compliancecan be a very tricky and expensive undertaking. As seen in the examples above, companies are subject to law suits and repercussions when they cannot execute the prescribed activities on a consistent and fail-safe basis. Companies must balance their resources against perceived market-shares and potential backlashes before they embark on a journey to obtaining HALAL certification for their products.