IFANCA Welcomes Mariam Majeed

Mariam Majeed received a B.Sc. in Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Chicago in December 2006 and graduated with honors. She has interned at several places including Children’s Memorial Hospital, St. James Outpatient Diabetes Center and University of Illinois at Chicago. After her internship she passed her RD examination to become a registered dietitian and served as the clinical and outpatient dietitian at Rush North Shore Medical Center in Skokie for more than a year. In July 2008, she joined IFANCA as a food technologist for food ingredient review amongst other responsibilities. She chose to come to IFANCA to focus on helping the Muslim community and to learn more about the field of food science and the food industry. She has been a Sunday school teacher at Muslim Education Center in Morton Grove and a camp counselor for MCC Muslim Youth Camp for girls. As for hopes for the future, she envisions that Muslims will consistently question the source of their products and demand halal certified products from companies. She speaks English and Urdu fluently.

 

Syed Farhatulla Quadri Joins IFANCA

Syed Farhatulla Quadri joined IFANCA as its Director of Community Services. Mr. Farhat Quadri is well known to the Chicago community for his involvement in MCC activities, beginning in 1975, primarily as a weekend school teacher, weekend school principal and administrator of the weekend school council. He has been involved in many other community services including the Central Eid Committee of Greater Chicago as its secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Farhat Quadri received his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Kansas State University, KS. He has served in four large Chicago area hospitals as director of Endocrinology Laboratory Services for the past 33 years.

In his new position at IFANCA, he will be responsible for various services planned to make communities aware of the products and ingredients consumed daily, as well as to oversee the functions of Sabeel Pantry. He will be the IFANCA liaison to Islamic Centers and civic organizations in Greater Chicago, the Midwest and eventually across the USA.

He will also serve as a point person to whom CIOGC Member organizations can direct their concerns, questions and suggestions regarding food related issues. Mr. Farhat Quadri can be reached by email at s.quadri@ifanca.org and by phone at 773-283-3708 or 847-756-0282.

 

IFCE Third International Halal Food Conference, 21 November 2008

Europe’s only premier Halal event, the International Halal Food Conference organized by Islamic Food Council of Europe (IFCE), returned to Brussels this year. The event had moved to Amsterdam in 2006 following a highly successful inauguration in Brussels in 2004. The event was graced by Madam Wan Suraya Radzi, Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs of the Malaysian Embassy. Other distinguished guests included Dr. Hartiulistyoso Edy, Agricultural Attache of the Indonesian Embassy and the President of Indonesian Muslims Association in Brussels and Ms. Deborah Lee, First Secretary (Commercial) of the Singapore Embassy. The attendance of such important dignitaries is indicative of the increasing importance of the Halal industry in Europe and the widening credibility of IFCE as a premier halal certification agency throughout Europe. The event was supported by Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) and Halal Industry Development Corporation of Malaysia (HDC).

Dr. Hj Amidhan Shaberah, Chairman, MUI kick-started the conference with a warm welcome from the audience. He discussed halal investment opportunities in Indonesia, and responded to many questions from the floor with regards to Indonesian halal policies. He expressed strong support and recognition of IFCE as a credible halal certifier in Europe.

Ustaz Hj Zainal Abidin Jaffar, Senior Manager, Halal Integrity Division, HDC introduced the new authority in Malaysian Halal certification. He shared information on the comprehensive Malaysian Halal Standard, the MS1500. He also updated the conference on some developments in Malaysia’s halal certification program. He iterated that IFCE is a Malaysian recognized Halal certifier in Europe and an HDC partner.

Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, President, Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) presented a conference paper on the developments in halal certification. Dr. Chaudry shared both the history and current activities of the Halal industry and markets. The evolution of halal from self-produced halal meals to the multi-billion dollar industry it is today was particularly interesting to all participants.

Shahlan Hairalah, an international halal consultant with years of special interest in halal science, marketing and economics, made a presentation on the current and future trends of global Halal certification. He focused on the various regional markets and the rise of the middle class that was affecting halal consumption globally. He emphasized the importance of the 4 Forces of Successful Halal Trade as the key to reaping all-round benefits from the growing halal industry.

Other guests included speakers from multi-national corporations. These included Donald Sgontz from Abbot Laboratories, Christine Lodder from Mead Johnson and Jes Knudsen from Novozymes. The conference ended with presentations by Mark Overland of Cargill Inc, Etienne Maillard of Lesaffre and Mark Van Mulders of Puratos. Each of them shared how they had systemically implemented IFCE’s halal program in producing high quality and premium products. They stressed the importance of selecting a halal certifier that shared their corporate mission, and exhibited both integrity and capability. In this important and critical aspect of business they expressed great satisfaction to have chosen IFANCA and IFCE.

From Ceylon Jamiyyatul Ulama, Sri Lanka, J. T Mahmud presented on the Sri Lankan experience in halal certification. IFCE associates who presented papers include Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Chief Religious Officer and Dr. Jabbar Khattak, biotechnologist and auditor. Prof. Dr. Hj Mohamed Sadek concluded the conference by thanking all participants and speakers for their continued support of the conference and IFCE. He urged participants to continue their strong support and contribution to meeting the demands of halal markets.

 

Save the Date

The 11th International Halal Food Conference Organized by IFANCA will be held in Chicago on Sunday, April 19 and Monday, April 20, 2009. For further information contact halal@ifanca.org.

 

Halal Food in China

Contributed By Daud Wang, IFANCA China

The global market for halal-certified products is estimated to be U.S. $2 trillion per year, according to Arabian Business.com, in an article dated 15 October, 2008. To assist Chinese food exporters widen their markets globally, IFANCA China is committed to offering Halal certification services to local manufacturers. In 2007, Chinese Halal food exports, largely to the Middle East, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, were valued at U.S. $100 million. Chinese food ingredient exports to the USA are estimated to be well over U.S. $250 million.

Within China itself, a population of 20 – 40 million Muslims translates into a local demand for halal products, especially processed Halal food. In 2007, the sales of snack foods in China were approximately U.S. $ 15 billion (RMB 100 billion). Sales of snack foods have risen to 15% per year, and are estimated to reach U.S. $70 billion ( RMB 480 billion) by 2018 perhaps making China the largest consumer of food imports in the world. That combined with a projected growth in local purchasing power, makes China a lucrative market for halal food. Multinational companies such as Wrigley and Nestle are already making their products halal for Chinese Muslim consumers. This trend is only going to intensify with the growing demand for Western style products.

More than 200 companies in China have met IFANCA’s strict requirements and received halal certification. These include manufacturers of food colors & flavors, antioxidants, emulsifiers, plant extracts and dietary supplements. IFANCA China, through its halal certification services, has been building bridges between Chinese food manufacturers who are interested in exporting their products, and halal food manufacturers in the USA and elsewhere who use those ingredients. For further information contact Daud Wang davidstart@263.net.