The 7th International Halal Food Conference to be held in Durban, South Africa on September 8th and 9th. South African National Halaal Authority (SANHA) organizes this world-class conference and IFANCA is cosponsoring. The conference will be the first of its kind to be held in Durban South Africa.

The theme of the conference will be “HALAL: A Symbol of Quality and Purity.”

The reason for selecting South Africa is that it has a booming Halal food production environment. Although the Muslim population of the country is only about one million, most of the slaughterhouse are under the control of various Halal certification organizations.

SANHA is the most recognized certification organization in S. Africa that, like IFANCA, adheres to the strictest interpretation of the Islamic rites and Halal food production guidelines. IFANCA and SANHA have teamed up to promote Halal and educate different groups in this part of the world.

Halal foods are foods that are free form any prohibited components. All good and clean foods are Halal. The Qur’an and Hadith are the major sources for guidance on Halal.

To help the food industry, IFANCA have authored a book, which provides guidelines on the production of Halal food, topics below are thoroughly discussed in the book.

Guideline for producing halal meat & Poultry

Guideline for producing Halal Dairy Products

Guideline for producing Halal Fish and Seafood

Guideline for producing Halal Cereal and Confectionary

Guideline for producing Halal Nutritional Supplements

The USDA Food Labeling Division Regulatory Programs has established guidelines with regards to the use of Halal labels. Codex Alimentarius has also adopted guidelines on the use of the term Halal for facilitating fair-trade. The states of New Jersey, Minnesota, Illinois, California, Michigan and Texas have passed Halal Food Bills to protect Halal consumers from fraudulent use of the term Halal. Halal consumers usually look for a Halal certification symbol on the label. If they do not find that, they check the ingredients to screen out haram products.