Marking processed vegetarian foods 'halal' is allowed - even stipulated, in some instances - by international bodies such as United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, and World Health Organisation.

It means merely that the product adheres to Islamic Law through all steps of preparation, processing, transport and storage, a senior Nestle Middle East FZE official explained yesterday.

"Our company adheres to international standards," asserted Dr Hassan Bayrakdar, regulatory affairs and quality assurance manager at the Jebel Ali-based company.

"Such standards have not been made obligatory by the local municipalities, which do, however, insist on fulfilling the conditions for the 'halal slaughtered' stamp," he said.

He was reacting to an article which appeared recently in Gulf News, highlighting vegetable soups made by the company bearing the Halal stamp in Arabic.

"Putting the halal stamp on food has no relation to meat or meat derivatives; the vegetable soups are pure vegetable products and can be used by vegetarians," he said.

"The stamp is to reassure the consumer this product is not contaminated with non-halal ingredients such as alcohol or animal derivatives."

He however pointed out the significance of the halal stamp differs from that of 'halal slaughtered', which is put on products that include meat, chicken or their derivatives, and stresses Islamic Law is followed strictly when the animal is slaughtered.

Dr Bayrakdar explained his company implements stipulations laid down in the Codex Alimentarius, which lays down international standards jointly developed by the FAO and the WHO for various product categories.

The latest edition was issued in 1999, and these standards are being followed by Nestle.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh-based GCC Secretariat is currently developing the Gulf Standards on General Requirements for Halal food, to be followed by all GCC nations.

It is here that the 'halal slaughtered' stamp is being made mandatory, for foodstuff producers operating in the region.

The official said the halal stamp on vegetarian products might cause confusion among consumers.

"Hence the management is considering new packaging that will place an asterisk against the halal stamp to further certify the products are made from 100 per cent vegetable ingredients.

"Both the 'halal' and the 'halal slaughtered' stamps will also be printed in English, for the benefit of non-Arab consumers."

The company, meanwhile, provides assistance to institutions which deal in food standards in order to help develop such standards and generate new food specifications, he pointed out.