Pakistan eyes halal export boost

Islamabad

FRUITY sweets and packets of chicken soup that fall foul of halal laws are disappearing from Pakistan's shop counters as the country looks to clean up its Islamic food credentials to boost exports to rich Gulf states.

At the start of the year, the government published a list of around 20 imported food products that it said were not halal, or permitted under Islamic law. Shops in Pakistan, an Islamic republic where 97 per cent of the population are Muslims, already do not stock pork or alcohol - with a few extremely rare exceptions for foreigners and the small Christian minority.

Now, the government wants to crack down further on products using alcohol and pork derivatives as ingredients. So, among other things, Pop-Tarts are off…