TORONTO, Canada (November 1, 2011) — The Chicago-based Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA®) will be speaking and sponsoring this year’s International Goat Symposium (IGS), Canada’s premier educational and networking event for Ontario’s goat industry. This annual event will take place in Orangeville/Toronto, Canada, from November 2 to 6, 2011.

IGS is an annual conference to discuss new opportunities arising in the goat industry. Education sessions range from farm management information to the latest goat market trends. Featured along with Canada’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the IGS is an important international forum that aims to educate international visitors about Canada’s goat industry.

At the event, IFANCA’s Canada Director, Haider Khattak, will speak on today’s halal goat demand and how halal certification can help provide goat farmers preserve halal guidelines for this emerging market. “We are very pleased to help goat farmers reach out to this exciting and emergent market segment,” says Khattak. He adds that the market for halal goat reaches far beyond Canada. In recent years, the US market for halal foods was estimated at US$20 billion. The global market for halal foods is even larger; analysts estimate it at US$634 billion, around 16 percent of the global food demand.

Goat has always been a popular demand for ethnic cuisine, traditional and comfort foods. Goat demand especially spikes around seasonal holidays like Easter, Christmas, Jamaica’s Independence Day, and Cinco de Mayo. The halal goat meat demand around Eid-ul-Adha, the Muslim holiday for sharing and sacrifice, is proving to be no different. Khattak notes that this presentation comes at an opportune time given that Eid-ul-Adha, will fall within a few days of the symposium. “Halal consumers actively look for halal goat around religious holidays, as well as to prepare traditional ethnic dishes all year round,” says Haider Khattak.

 

IFANCA®

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA®) is one of the world’s leading and well-respected not-for-profit halal certification organizations. Featured in various media such as the Wall Street Journal, Prepared Foods, CNBC, and CNN, IFANCA has been promoting halal since 1982. IFANCA was recognized in the “Best Halal Related Service Provider Award” by the Halal Journal at World Halal Forum 2007. IFANCA certified halal products are recognized by Indonesia (MUI), Malaysia (JAKIM), Singapore (MUIS), and the United Arab Emirates (GSM) and are sold in nearly every country of the world. IFANCA’s halal certification expertise covers all food industry categories.

For more information about IFANCA, visit www.ifanca.org.

 

Contact:
Maria Omar
(773) 283-3708
m.omar@ifanca.org