"We will maintain, develop and continue to provide effective and efficient services, latest information, facts and standards, established strategic alliances and development of best practices in assuring Halal, Hygiene and Safety compliance across the entire supply chain of the food industry for the benefit of both business and public."

World of HALAL

Facts-Potential-History-Certification

halal-logohalal-pic

HALAL Food

Halal food means food permitted under the Shariah law and fulfills the following conditions:

  • the food or its ingredients that do not contain any parts or products of animals that are non-halal to Muslims by Shariah law or products of animals which are not slaughtered according to Shariah law;
  • the food does not contain any ingredients that are najs according to Shariah law;
  • the food  that is safe and not harmful;
  • the food  that is not prepared, processed or manufactured using equipment that is contaminated with things that are najs according to Shariah law;
  • food or its ingredients do not contain any human parts or its derivatives that are not permitted by Shariah law; and
  • during its preparation, processing, packaging, storage or transportation, the food is physically separated from any other food does not meet the requirements stated in items a), b), c), d) or e) or any other things that have been decreed as najs by Shariah law.

Global HALAL Industry

Halal industry is the fastest growing global business with a built-in consumer base of 1.6 billion muslims spread across the globe. It is also attracting non-muslims with its wholesome, hygienic and contamination free principles in food production. Ultimately the Halal standard has potential consumer reach of more than 6 billion people worldwide.

The understanding of Halal (lawful) and Tayyib (good) aspects of food and beverages is of utmost importance to Muslims because of its relationship with Ibadah (worship Allah)

There are 1.6 billion Muslim which are nearly a quarter of world population. Muslim consumers spread out in 112 countries all over the world. In about 70 countries, the Muslim population is the majority.

Presently, the global halal market is estimated at USD 580 billion and is growing at a rate of about 10 percent annually. (Middle East is in demand of USD 60 billion)

Halal certification will give producers a competitive advantage over other non-halal producers. The global halal market is a lucrative market for companies to explore.

HALAL Certification

The History : THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HALAL CERTIFICATION

  1. Halal Certification started for two reasons:
    • Because the Muslims are of the minorities. To this situation, the Muslims need their food to be certified. We can see these phenomena in South African (Cape Town), Fiji, New Zealand and other parts in the world. The halal food can be seen in Muslim Restaurants and the halal meat can be subscribed from their own butcher.
    • Because the Muslims are of simple majority like Malaysia or of a so-called majority like Indonesia, but food are scattered every where which need to be determined whether it is halal or non-halal.

    Note: For countries where Muslim are absolute majority like Arab countries in the Middle East or North Africa, halal certification is required only for meat or meat products. However, Products of meat free need not to certify or to be recognized as halal. For them the general foods in the market are already halal without duly halal tagging.

  2. For these two categories of Muslim countries, the minority and the simple majority, halal certification had started in late70s or early 80s. Why? Because in those days, food as started coming from various countries such as USA, Europe, China and any where in the world. These food or fast food contained meat or animal derivatives that need to be certified. Before 70s or 80s, no such food had come to Muslim countries like Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Therefore, certification was not seen as very important.

Late 70s or early 80s

As the result of such a demand for halal certification, there exist a few certification bodies in USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and so on. They are: Islamic Foods and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), Islamic Services of America (ISA) and Halal Food Council International (HFCI) in USA. We see Australian Federation of IslamicCouncil (AFIC), Federation of Islamic Association of New Zealand (FIANZ), Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM), Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI), Central Islamic Committee of Thailand (CICT) and many others in the region. Other bodies exist in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands and everywhere in the world.

Early 90s and early millennium

In the early 90s and early millennium, the number of halal certification bodies has increased double. This is due to the demand for halal certification especially in countries that need to export products to Muslim countries such as China, USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It is no surprise if halal certifications bodies increase from time to time in countries like China, because China is a very big country. There is no law in any country to restrict certification body to the locals only, as the discretion to choose is in the hand of customers.

As more certification bodies all over the world come into existent from time to time, they are subject to recognition or rejection. Certificate issued by some minor certification bodies may be rejected by other countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT : A GENERAL REVIEW OF ALL EXISTING STANDARD

  • Premise Only Produces Halal Product Will Qualify
    There must be no contamination between halal and non-halal products in the storage and manufacturing.
  • Premise Complies With Good Manufacturing
    This includes cleanliness and full hygienic system in the factory and the environment surrounding the factory. However, factory with normal or manual cleaning procedure can apply for halal certification with strict observation from our consultant.
  • Premise With Two(2) Muslim Workers Is Preferable (But Not Compulsory)
    The Muslim workers can help factory in complying with halal guideline. However factory without Muslim worker is also qualified to get halal certification.
  • No Food Served Inside The Factory To Maintain Hygiene
    This is to make sure the factory is always kept clean and free from non-halal element.
  • Only Halal Ingredient For Halal Products
    Among the halal ingredient are:-
    - Free from pork or dog
    - Free from non-slaughtered animal
    - Free from animal part, except what has been certified halal
    - Free from animal fat such as enzyme, emulsifier etc. except what has been certified halal
    - Free from flith or najis
    - Free from wine or alcohol
  • There Is No Contamination Between Halal And Non Halal In The Premise
    Only factory or premise served or produced with halal products can be certified halal. Premise that produces non-halal product cannot be certified unless they discontinue the non-halal and go for halal only. They can operate for halal products after undergoing cleansing procedure according to Islamic law.

STANDARD SETTERS AND THEIR SOURCE OF AUTHORITY (RECOGNITION)

Click here to find out more on Halal Certification