‘O You who Believe, Eat of the Tayyibāt (pure and wholesome food) that We Have Provided You’—Producing Risk, Expertise and Certified Halal Consumption in South Africa

What is it about?

This article explores the phenomenon of halal certification in South Africa. It shows how the idea of halal certification actually transforms the practice of halal. Halal certification aims to replace interpersonal trust with trust in the halal certification logo. It achieves this through the publication and dissemination of invisible risks to halal consumption.

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Why is it important?

In the contemporary context concern about food purety and security is widespread. GMO food production threatens both the food supply as well as its nutritional and health value. The anti-GMO campaign as well as the organic food movement are responses to this awareness of risk that is at once ubiquitous and beyond the control of the consumer. The emergence of halal certification bears clear resonance with these developments. The difference is that the concern of Muslims is not necessarily health. Rather it is the potential for impure food products (pork and alcohol) to surreptitiously enter Muslim food consumption.