Assalamu Alaikum

What began almost thirty years ago – a drive to get products halal certified, last year saw IFANCA advertising halal in Times Square, New York City. There is talk of a potential trillion-dollar global halal industry, and we estimate the American halal market to be worth an annual $20 billion just for food. Despite these numbers, Muslim consumers still have no choice but to scan ingredient lists on each product before they make a purchase. The IFANCA Crescent-M logo on products that are halal-certified would take the doubt out as to the halal-worthiness of a product, but some halal-certified companies still shy away from carrying the logo. Yes, these past three decades have been quite a journey, but we still have a long way to go.

Halal certification takes several factors into consideration. For starters, Muslim consumers themselves fall into two categories. Some are very strict as to what is considered halal and others who are more liberal in their interpretation of it. IFANCA conforms to the stricter code so as to make halal products available to the widest customer base. We work with the food industry to make existing products halal by modifying the formulas for the largest consumer base.

Secondly, product compositions often change and we at IFANCA keep abreast of those changes. A brand of chocolate sold in Chicago differs from that same brand sold in another state or another country. Local tastes and preferences vary from region to region and these are taken into consideration when creating formulas. For instance, the same brand of chocolate is going to be formulated with a different combination of ingredients in Pakistan, than in America.

Thirdly, the sources of ingredients for each product vary too. We work with companies to source the right ingredients and approve even flavors and additives. These are some of the reasons halal supervision is an on-going process.

IFANCA, in its infancy, began with a “good/bad list” of products only to find that they became obsolete when ingredients changed. We realized then that it was going to be a continuous process. With a commitment to product development, quality control and food safety, IFANCA today has certified over 20,000 products in over 55 countries, and is the leader in halal-certification of foods, nutritionals and cosmetics in North America.

Sincerely,

Muhammad Munir Chaudry
President, IFANCA