China will enact a national regulation on the management of Muslim foods to guarantee the protection of customs of the Islamic ethnic minorities, according to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC).

 

The draft regulation, which has gone through numerous modifications in the past two years, is being revised again by the commission and Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council, said an SEAC official.

 

It will then be submitted to the State Council for approval after further soliciting opinions from different government departments, said the official, who revealed no details about the draft.

 

Many local governments in China have issued their own rules governing the production of Muslim food.

 

Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province, introduced its first regulation on the management of Islamic food in 2003.

 

The regulation stipulates that Muslims should be involved in the management of companies or factories producing Islamic food.

 

It also sets out special criteria for Islamic food producers, and orders the use of special logos that are approved by the city's ethnic affairs authorities.

 

In many Chinese cities, special Muslim cafeterias are available in government buildings, schools, enterprises and institutions. Special beef and mutton markets are also set up in Muslim communities.

 

China now has 10 Islamic ethnic minorities, which are the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Ozbek, Tatar, Bonan, Kirgiz, Tajik, Dongxiang and Salar, with a total population of about 20 million people.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2007)