Halal Happenings

IFANCA Honored at World Halal Forum

This year IFANCA received an award from Halal Journal at the World Halal Forum, May 7-8, 2007 for Best Halal Related Service Provider. The World Halal Forum brings together all stakeholders from the global halal food industry to understand challenges and arrive at breakthroughs. The award acknowledged and honored IFANCA’s 25 years of service to the food industry at a gala banquet dinner hosted by the Halal Industry Development Corporation and Halal Journal, in conjunction with the World Halal Forum. The ceremony was attended by over 1000 guests and delegates from over 50 countries.

About World Halal Forum

Global halal industry leaders and world class speakers meet annually at the World Halal Forum to discuss developments in market, business trends, policy and regulations. It allows f or the exchange of valuable experiences to understand and network in this fast developing market in a world class venue: the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.

About Halal Journal

Halal Journal is an online and print business publication that covers global developments in the halal industry. Now into its second year, the magazine focuses on global halal news, feature articles, interviews, food & beverage, Islamic finance & investment, agriculture, new products & technologies, emerging markets and trends, travel and tourism, business opportunities, trade events & listings, classified advertising, trade matching and more.

About Halal Industry Development Corporation

The Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) which is placed under the National Implementation Task Force (NITF), chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, spearheads the development of the halal industry in Malaysia.

HDC will undertake a multitude of tasks to expedite Malaysia’s role as a leading halal hub, the Prime Minister said at the World Halal Forum gala dinner.

HDC is expected to lead the development of halal standards, audit and certification procedures to protect the integrity of “halal”, direct and coordinate the development of Malaysia’s halal industry among all stakeholders, including managing capacity building for halal producers and related service providers, and promote and market the Malaysian halal brand for goods and services to the world.

Dr. Chaudry Speaker at 2nd International Halaal Conference for Africa, “Opportunities Beyond Boundaries”

July 16, 2007, South Africa – Following the success of the 1st International Halal Conference in Durban last year, which was sponsored by IFANCA and The South African National Halaal Authority (SANHA, www.sanha.org), demand from the industry, consumers and companies has resulted in this year’s conference. Key stakeholders from South Africa, USA, Netherlands, Malawi, Malaysia and New Zealand presented at the conference, including IFANCA President, Dr. Muhammad Chaudry, who spoke on how IFANCA developed the incorporation of Halal Control Points (HCP) into HACCP. Other issues that were discussed included halal certification programs, import regulations, benefits and challenges facing the halal industry, stunning in the slaughter process, and GMO and Organics retailing and their compatibility with halal.

Dr. Sadek, IFANCA, To Speak at European Halal Industry Forum 2007: “Fostering Linkages in the European Halal Industry”

Khaaz International Sdn Bhd of Malaysia, I-Everything Ltd of UK and the Global Halal Academy of UK will be organizing the first European Halal Industry Forum, on 4th and 5th September 2007, at the New Connaught Room in Coventry Garden, London. This event is being supported by the Muslim Council of Britain. Dr. Sadek, Chairman of the Islamic Food Council of Europe (IFCE) based in Brussels, will be speaking at the event. IFCE is an affiliate organization of IFANCA.

The theme of the conference is “Fostering Linkages in the European Halal Industry” and principle objectives of this forum are to address current issues, challenges and updates in the European halal industry and to lead the way in fostering linkages and networking among the global and European halal stake holders and to discuss the various opportunities in the halal industry in Europe.

There are more than 20 local and international speakers who will cover a plethora of topics including the principles of halal, overview of the European halal industry, market potentials for halal products and services, retailing & franchising, European standards and certification, Islamic financing, science, research, training, logistics and other topics of relevance. Participants will comprise businessmen, policy makers, financiers, researchers and academics.

More details on this event are available in www.eurohalalforum.org.

UAE Government Delegation Visits IFANCA

H.E. Mr. Obaid Bin Essa, Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Secretary of Municipalities of Dubai, led a delegation for a six day forum and visit with IFANCA. The team included Mohamed Omar Mohamed Albannai and Dr. Yousry Abd Ahmed Hamed, members of technical committees at the Secretary of Municipalities office. Dr. Chaudry, IFANCA President, led the UAE representatives on a tour of IFANCA-certified meat and food production companies.

During the meetings, H.E. Mr. Obead Bin Essa expressed his desire for further talks between halal certifiers and Muslim nations on halal regulations so that increased trading could be accomplished. The meeting was part of the continuing dialogue between IFANCA and the UAE on halal guidelines and demonstrated IFANCA’s dedication to halal.

IFANCA Mail Bag

1. Question: “Please advise us as to IFANCA’s ruling on Shellac [E 904]. If reasons could be offered it would be appreciated.”

Sincerely,
Research Dept: South African National Halaal Authority

Our Response: “Shellac is a chemical polymer extracted from Seedlac secreted by and deposited in the tree bark by the insect Kerria lacca, found in the forests of India. It is harvested from the bark of the trees, purified and processed for various uses. The purified chemical could be yellow, red, brown and even black. Shellac is a natural polymer and is chemically similar to synthetic polymers, thus it is considered a natural plastic. It is not easily digestible and passes through the body unchanged. The word shellac seldom appears on the product labels; however its use is very common in pharmaceutical glaze and confectioner’s glaze, also known as resinous glaze, pure food glaze and natural glaze. It is used by the drug, food and supplement industry for coating candy, tablets and caplets, whereby it improves product appearance, extends shelf life, provides a clean base for printing and protects the contents from moisture and oxygen. For the consumer, it facilitates swallowing the pill or caplet. It is listed on the FDA’s inactive ingredient list and has been accepted as GRAS [generally regarded as safe].

By nature, as a secretion of insects, it is similar to honey or bees wax. Both the honeybee and lac insect are not haram or even najs, as verified by our religious scholars. Any ingredient or product from similar insects is therefore, halal. God knows our intentions, best.

2. Question: “I have recently learned that the Magnesium used in Tylenol comes from pork and Advil contains animal ingredients as well. This information applies to Canada. Is it true of these medicines in the U.S.A.?”

Our Response: “Fortunately, most companies list the ingredients on their web sites or product labels, such as the following information from an ADVIL liquid product.

Non-medicinal Ingredients:
gelatin, iron oxide, lecithin, medium chain triglycerides, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl acetate phthalate, potassium hydroxide, propylene glycol, purified water, sorbitan, sorbitol.

The worst non-halal ingredient in this product is gelatin, normally derived from pork. Avoid all products that contain gelatin. There is only one way to convince the companies to make a product halal; i.e. when many consumers ask for it. God knows best.”