According to Rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):In Cambodia, practising Muslims, who make up around 2% of the 16-million population, are already finding it hard to find restaurants officially selling halal food due to the shortage of certified suppliers. To make it worse, many non-halal restaurants are selling food which they claim is halal to Muslim consumers, an act considered as a serious crime to the Muslim community.
Many sources from the Muslim community in Cambodia have reported that these restaurants or eateries put up the halal logo in front of their premises but have no certification from the Commission for Examination of Halal Products in Cambodia (CEHP), responsible for approving the certification of Halal products in Cambodia.
Many of these businesses operate in areas where the local Muslim communities reside, such as Chrang Chamres commune in Russey Keo district and also Chroy Changvar district in Phnom Penh and take advantage of the demand without applying for certification to avoid paying the fee or using a registered supplier.
Saleh Binkriya, residing in Chrang Chamres 2 commune in Russey Keo district, said many people in his Muslim community do not know about the official halal logo used in the Kingdom, so they are being deceived by some vendors who simply label products as halal.
“It is very concerning and the authorities should work on it as soon as possible, if not this scam will cause the Muslim community to distrust vendors and their products,” he said.
Sas Los, another Muslim in Phnom Penh, said he had been eating in a fake halal restaurant for months before it was exposed as being “fake”.
“I could not forgive myself,” she said. “This is a very serious offence to my religion. For those who are making a living from such a scam, please stop!”
Thorn Saron, Deputy Head of Administration of CEHP who shared this concern, said, “Those who are committing these crimes are simply prioritising profit over consumers’ needs and wishes.”
“Several places operate this halal scam, as they want to gain more profit,” he said. “They see it as a ploy to draw in Muslim customers but avoid upholding the standard systems without thinking about the impacts their act will leave on the actual consumers who strictly follow their religion.”
He added, “The owners of those places simply download a halal logo and put it in front of their shop. However, an official mark can only be obtained from CEHP, who will carry out the certification.
“The government is investigating these bogus restaurants and food vendors due to the damage and mistrust it causes among the Muslim community,” Saron said.
“For example, last month, we fined the owner of a restaurant in Sihanoukville $500 for selling fake halal food.”
He guaranteed that, “the ongoing crackdown is transparent although it is slow to track these restaurants”.
Source: khmertimeskh.com
