Islam prescribes certain guidelines for its believers to follow. This applies to all facets of life- be it dietary, cosmetics, Islamic finance and interestingly even tourism. Yes, we are talking about ‘halal’. While these may be confusing for the non-Muslims to follow, the basic idea is that it serves to bond followers together as part of a cohesive group and establish a unique identity. The term ‘halal’ means permissible and it refers to all aspects of life being covered by Islam and Islamic principles.
In MENA, the United Arab Emirates is already taken steps to inspect both UAE made and imported food products, meat, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to ensure they are halal. The UAE food standards authority in an effort to standardise halal certification in the country launched the ‘Halal National Mark’ that has to be carried out on the product, service or production system declared as Halal, with all products facing a testing regime designed by the Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology (ESMA). Studies show that halal food comprises of one-fifth of the global food market and is growing at seven per cent per annum. According to the latest research by research firm Markets and Markets, the market for halal food certification is projected to grow to $14.5 billion by 2019 and this is from a stupendous $10.7 billion in 2013. The factors mentioned here have become solid mandatory reasons to push your products or services under halal accreditation.
So what is Halal Certification?
Halal certification is getting certified as per the Islamic guidelines followed within the Muslim countries. The market today has several halal certification companies who cater to fulfil the requirements. It ensures the features and quality of the products fall in line with the rules established by the Islamic council that allows the use of the mark Halal, mostly applied to meat products and other food products such as milk, canned food and additives. Halal requires that the animals are slaughtered in a single cut by a devout Muslim who should pray before the slaughter, ensure that the blood is completely drained off and such meat should not come in contact with animals that have been slaughtered the normal way. Products that are halal certified come marked with a specific halal symbol.
By approaching a halal consultant you get to:
*Access the growing market of Halal food products
*Create a unique stand by putting the national halal mark on the halal product thereby qualifying as a halal product to be sold within the UAE market
*Authenticity and safety of the product are not questioned.
Halal certification aims to serve the national and international Muslim communities in meeting their religious compliance. Understanding that halal services in the food industry cannot be ignored and that Halal is for everyone, UAE authorities set up the Halal Certification scheme and the Halal Accreditation Forum in 2016 to supervise and accredit halal certification bodies for food. Additionally, the emirate also hosts the annual Halal Expo Dubai, the largest regional business to business sharia-compliant products event- the 10th edition was the latest, held on 29th,30th Oct 2018.
All this effort goes to prove that Halal is the ultimate stamp of purity and safety guaranteeing superior quality products.