For years, checking whether a shop was really halal-certified meant taking someone's word for it or emailing MUIS and waiting. That changed from 1 October 2025, when MUIS began issuing digital halal certificates carrying a QR code. Now you scan the code with your phone and land on an official page showing the establishment's name, the certification scope, the validity dates, and a function to report anything that looks wrong. Verification that used to take days now takes seconds, right there at the counter.
A few details make you a sharper checker. During the changeover, physical certificates stay valid until 31 March 2026, so you may still see the older paper version in some places. After that, the QR certificate becomes the standard. Crucially, a genuine code should open a page on an official MUIS or halal.sg address. If the link resolves anywhere else, treat it with caution, because sticker scams and lookalike graphics do exist. A genuine page also shows the certified outlet's name and address, so if what appears on screen does not match the shop in front of you, treat that mismatch as a warning in itself.
It also helps to know what the certificate actually covers. MUIS certification applies to food and beverage: eating places, central kitchens, caterers, manufacturers. A green sticker on its own, or a "no pork, no lard" sign, is a marketing line rather than certification, and it does not tell you about shared equipment, cooking alcohol, or ingredient sourcing. Certification covers the whole process, which is exactly why it carries more weight than a reassuring phrase.
Personal care sits outside this system. Because local certification centres on food, a toothpaste or a skincare product is not certified through MUIS in the same way. Instead you look for a recognised halal body and a clear, honest ingredient list. The habit is the same, only the mark differs: identify who certified it, confirm the certification is current, and check that it covers the actual product.
At Meraki, we think trust should be something you can check rather than something you are asked to assume. Meraki Halal is a halal certified natural toothpaste made with miswak and black seed oil, SLS free, with no artificial sweeteners or colours. We keep our certification and our ingredients transparent for the same reason MUIS built the QR system, because confidence comes from being able to verify, not from being told. Learning to scan and read a certificate is a small skill that pays off across your whole shopping basket.