Press TV - Iran�s agriculture ministry has boosted its halal supervision system for imported meat by watching online operations at the slaughterhouses outside of the country.

A senior ministry official said on Monday that cameras for online watching of slaughter practices had been installed in slaughterhouses in at least eight countries who export beef and mutton to Iran.

Reza Taghavi, a cleric who is also in charge of broader religious issues in the agriculture sector, said the new system would accompany at least 50 experts who supervise how sheep and cows are slaughtered, deboned, chopped and packed in various countries for the purpose of export to Iran.

The new online monitoring system is part of a broader initiative launched on Monday which seeks to coordinate plans and programs related to halal food in various Iranian government departments.

Authorities said the Integrated Halal System would expedite administrative steps needed to authorize halal food production while it would reduce costs existing in the field.

On installation of online CCTV cameras in slaughterhouses in other countries, officials rejected reports that the new scheme had created extra costs for the Iranian agriculture ministry.

Behrouz Tahayi, who represents Iran on halal food issues in Brazil, a country with a sizable meat export to Iran, said that slaughterhouses in the South American country were supposed to incur the costs.

Tahayi said, however, that it had been Iran�s request that the cameras be installed in the slaughterhouses to ensure that they are in full compliance with Islamic laws on the issue.

Other major suppliers of meat to Iran include Mongolia, Australia, Romania and Kazakhstan, among others.