Understand the culture and history behind food

JAKIM has been embrolied in many issues of late due to statements issued by their officers following decisions they have made. Their latest act, in wanting a food with the word “dogs” to be changed has not only brought some laughter.

It also raises questions over whether their knowledge on food, beverages and clothes is all inclusive.

In the latest case, Auntie Anne’s which applied for the “halal certification” was told that it might not get it approved just because of the words “‘pretzel dogs” in its menu.

That product has been in the market in the country for several years and now Jakim wants the name changed to avoid confusion, especially amongst Muslims, before the “halal certificate” can be issued.

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was reported to have described that view as making us look stupid and backwards.

That incident has also resulted in many people rushing to Auntie Anne’s outlets in the cities to buy “pretzel dogs” fearing that they may be taken off the shelves.

Alhough the latest incident involves “pretzel dogs” only, given Jakim’s stand, I fear that foods such as “coney dogs”, “hotdogs”, “bacon”, “hamburgers”, “root beer” and “fruit wines” – traditional names given to foods which do not contain dog’s meat nor are they necessarily made of pork nor include alcohol – could face similar predicaments.

Food names that include words such as “dogs”, “ham”, “bacon”, “beer” and “wine” have long been considered generic names and have been accepted worldwide, including in Islamic countries.

They have never been made issues of contention to determine whether they are halal or haram. Their use has also been accepted in our country for a very long time by all communities without any problems, until recently.

I believe that the issues concerning the names of food, including halal food, were settled a long time ago. That is why we have local and international hotels, restaurants, fast food chains and others using substitute ingredients.

This practice has been accepted worldwide and we see halal beef and halal chicken used instead of pork for bacon, hamburgers, hotdogs and others.

There are “halal” beers and “halal” wines made from fruit juices, concentrates or extracts which do not contain alcohol. Perhaps, Jakim’s’s staff are not aware about this.

Besides being qualified and informed about technicalities and syariah, Jakim’s officers involved in evaluating applications for halal certificates and their issuance should also know about food culture and food names, especially traditional English food names.

They should also know something about the history of food, especially the types of imported food. This will prevent confusion and also people ridiculing them should they decide to “ban” a product.

To prevent such incidents from happening in future, perhaps Jakim should appoint “cultural” officers and food historians who are fluent in English and are conversant in food culture and food history so that they can understand the reasons why certain traditional names of foods, especially imported food, need to be retained.

HUSSAINI ABDUL KARIM Shah Alam