XINING, Oct.11 (Xinhua) — Muslim food business leaders in China are pledging product safety and vowing to follow their religious teachings in food production.

200 Muslim food business leaders made that declaration while attending an ongoing international trade fair in the northwest Chinese city of Xining.

This is the latest move by the country’s food industry to self-regulate after a series of safety scandals.

“The recent Sanlu baby milk powder safety incident severely endangered consumer’s health and damaged the international image of Chinese food businesses,” Wang Zhanhe, general manager of the restaurant chain, Little Sheep Group Ltd., said while reading out the Chinese Muslim Food Industry Declaration on Quality and Credibility on behalf of manufacturers at the fair.

“We will strictly abide by the laws and regulations of China and other countries in the world, implement the halal standard, and create a safe and reliable halal food market,” the declaration said.

“The declaration reiterated the social morality that an enterprise must have,” said Chawalit Na Muangtoun, representative of Thailand’s Chia Tai Group and president of the company’s subsidiary in north China’s Hebei Province.

“At Chia Tai Group, we believe in the concept of using morality to direct production and sales,” he said.

Chawalit said food enterprises should lose money rather than make it immorally.

Members of foreign business delegations voiced appreciation for the food safety declaration.

“We hope these goals can be done by all the halal companies and all the dairy companies in China,” said Kamarul Arifin Ab. Gani, agriculture counselor of Malaysia Embassy. “Every company should follow the declaration.”

Shahzad Hussain Rana, commercial counselor of the Pakistan Consulate General, said products made in China can be found almostevery where in his country.

“Mistakes might happen, but I think China is a very responsible country and the control of quality is good for protecting the people,” Rana said.

The China (Qinghai) International Halal Food and Product Fair is one the most important halal fairs in the world. More than 400 international business people, experts and officials from 26 countries and regions attended the fair this year.

source : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/11/content_10179677.htm

YINCHUAN (Ningxia), Sept 10 (APP): China is ready to take part in the next month 2008 International Conference on Halal Food and Agriculture products, provided receiving invitation from the host country, said a senior government official.

Talking on the side lines of the Ningxia (China) International Muslim Halal Food Festival and Ningxia Investment and Trade Fair that kicked off here on Wednesday, the Director Press, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of  Ningxia Liu Guo Qing told APP that it will be a good opportunity for China to showcase their kitchen items in Pakistan.

The International Conference on Halal Food and Agriculture 2008, as per report will be held in conjunction with 3^rd Food, Agri & Livestock Asia 2008 International Exhibition on October 19 & 20 at Karachi Expo Centre.

A  local trader Sam Yu told media persons at the exhibition, that Pakistan is a big market for Halal Food.

He said that he imports five containers of fish, shrimp and other sea food items from Pakistan, while exports  ten containers of Halal Food to Karachi, every month.

He said that there is also big scope of Chinese Halal Food in other big cities like Lahore and Islamabad but being the port city, he is concentrating his business only to Karachi.

He said that besides, Pakistan, he also exports his products to Qatar, Dubai, Jordan , Saudi Arabia and many other countries around the world.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Wang Zhengwei this morning inaugurated the Halal Food and Muslim Commodities exhibition.

The ceremony was largely attended by ambassadors, diplomats, delegates from foreign countries and traders.

In his address, he said that holding of the exhibition is part of the 50^th Anniversary of the founding of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

He said that Ningxia has a population of 6.1 million out of which 2.3 million or 36 percent are Hui (Muslim)

Wang said that Ningxia, with more opening attitude, welcomes warmly the friends all over the world to invest, to do business and to push forward the development of Ningxia.

source : http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52216&Itemid=1

Muslims in Mindanao are aghast that non-Muslim countries are cornering the multi-billion world market for halal food products.

“The Philippines failed to cope with the demand of halal products in the world market”, said Ustadz Esmael Ebrahim, spokesman of the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board Inc. (MMHCBI).

It’s a pity because Ebrahim is convinced that rich Muslim countries that largely depend on food imports would be happier if they get their supply from their fellow Muslims in Mindanao rather than non-Muslim countries.

“Thailand made it to becoming world’s number one exporter of halal products. It’s not even a Muslim country,” he said. Other non-Muslim countries that export halal food are Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

An Arabic term for “permissible,” halal refers to anything that is permissible under Islam. The religion forbids substances such as pork, blood, alcohol, and their by-products. Mostly healthy, halal foods have a big market among health buffs, too.

Recent dialogues of the MMHCBI with the Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries and Allied Industries (CAFFINORMIN) and the Mindanao Development Council (Medco) resulted in two courses of action so that Mindanao can get a share of the multi-billion industry.

One, the CAFFINORMIN agreed to strengthen its poultry industry and expand production. It is set to ink a memorandum of agreement in October. (Poultry products are considered halal.)

Two, the MEDco will assist in organizing a workshop on the halal industry. “We urge the  MEDCo to realize the workshop soon as this will give us (investors) the idea as to how much are we going to invest, and for us to take a closer look at the world’s halal players”,  said Roger Navarro of CAFFINORMIN.

Exporting halal products is not as easy as regular goods, however. Islam imposes guidelines in slaughtering meat, for example.

“Right now, we really don’t have a production site for halal meat products”, Navarro said. This has been the major obstacle to local producers of halal food. Without an agency to certify that they followed the requirement of Islam, their products may not be accepted in the world market.

This problem is temporarily addressed by MMHCBI’s pact with Malaysia’s International Halal Integrity Alliance—which can certify local products in Mindanao.  The real solution is to come up with a halal certification system in the Philippines, Navarro said.

source : http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/10/08/mindanao-eyes-multi-billion-halal-industry

The recently-concluded trip to the Sultanate by a trade delegation from Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DPPMS) has been considered a huge success by the participating traders from the island.

The delegation expressed their gratitude to relevant agencies and business associations in Brunei such as the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Economic Development Board, Brunei Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and ITM Cooperative Limited.

Some of the 23 traders even stayed a few more days in Brunei as they could not complete their business talks within the stipulated time.

Many more will be returning here to follow-up their ventures after finding out that some of the business proposals made by their Brunei counterparts are viable and can be developed.

The head of mission, Encik Yatiman Yusof, hoped DPPMS and their Brunei counterparts will pursue their preliminary business talks.

Encik Yatiman, who is also the Singapore High Commissioner to Kenya, said the four-day trip to Brunei was fruitful.

He personally felt the business trip to Brunei was more beneficial to the Singapore Malay traders than those that were organised to various other countries in the past.

The president of DPPMS, Dato’ Mohd Zain Abdullah, said he received positive response from the participating traders.

During their four-day stay in Brunei, the Singapore traders visited the International Halal Products Expo (IPHE) 2008 which was participated by traders from 10 nations.

They also met with the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and his deputy as well as participated in the International Halal Market Conference in conjunction with the IHPE 2008.

The delegation also heard trade and investment briefings from Brunei Economic Development Board, Department of Agriculture and Brunei Tourism Development Department.

source : http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/mon/sep8h24.htm

A FOUR-DAY fair of Malaysian halal products was held recently in a city hotel for boosting business of halal products and strengthening the trade connections with Bangladesh. Malaysian Ministry of Entrepreneur Cooperative Development and EPIC TIPS, a company of Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka organised the fair. Some 30 small and medium enterprises and over 80 business communities from Malaysia participated in the fair with the main objective of expanding the platform of halal products for the business communities of the two brotherly Muslim countries. Proactive steps are to be taken in seizing this opportunity by widely introducing halal products with a view to meeting the growing global demand.

It is to be mentioned here that Malaysia as a Muslim country has already become the world’s ‘halal-hub’ and its various food products have become popular brand in many countries including Bangladesh because of quality and standard and, of course, with the confidence of its products being made as halal products. Malaysia will act as a catalyst, as Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can also do healthy networking with their Malaysian counterparts to further develop their own local halal market. Malaysia is well aware of the global halal market potential and Bangladesh’s highly untapped market where a big majority of consumers are Muslims.

The global trade in halal food - if products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other services are added in - the combined market value is believed well in excess of one trillion US dollars though the estimated market value of the halal food trade is now at US$ 580 billion. ‘The World Halal Forum’, held in Kuala Lumpur in the recent past, drew the prospect of the halal food industry saying it was expanding along with the Islamic faith, the world’s fastest-growing religion.

source : http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/09/02/news0443.htm

The Agriculture Department has stepped up efforts to find new markets abroad for the budding halal industry, with initial talks held with Kuwait and Brunei on possible investment opportunities.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said separate discussions with the ambassador of Brunei and Kuwaiti officials brought new investment opportunities in the fledgling industry.

The government is offering two big-ticket investment proposals worth P3.04 billion in Mindanao to develop the industry and unlock its export potentials in the $500-billion world market,

Visayas and Mindanao have been declared free from foot-and-mouth disease but the World Animal Health Organization has not yet cleared Luzon.

Assistant Secretary Clayton Olalia said the halal food industry portfolio would include the economic zone in Davao City and a model poultry farm in Cagayan de Oro City.

Olalia said the proposed P2.2 billion Halal Economic Zone in Davao City would be the centerpiece of the investment portfolio being offered to overseas investors in the Middle East, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States.

The zone is expected to generate 24,000 new jobs for Muslim Filipinos and boost Philippines’ export earnings by at least $200 million yearly.

The other investment proposal package is an P840-million halal model poultry farm complete with research laboratories, abattoirs and other modern facilities.

Around 32,000 Muslim farmers and entrepreneurs in Mindanao are expected to benefit from the proposed initiative.

source : http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business5_aug28_2008

Cagayan de Oro City (27 August) — Aware of the huge market potential of halal products here and abroad, the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certifying Board, Inc. (MMHCBI) will meet here on Thursday (August 28) with the Northern Mindanao Poultry Growers’ Association on compliance with the Philippine Halal Standards in food and non-products preparation.

Ustadz Esmael Ebrahim, spokesperson for the MMHCBI, said the meeting will be held at the Pearlmont Hotel, Limketkai Drive this city.

The MMHCBI, the Philippines’ halal certifying body based in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, will conduct a briefing on the religious and technical aspects of producing halal foods with representatives of prominent industry trademarks in attendance. Expected to attend the food certifying meet are members of the Mindanao Poultry Growers’ Association, particularly, San Miguel sister company Magnolia, Swift, Bounty-Agro Ventures, Inc. Fresh and Vista de Rio Farms.

Food companies have sought to enrich their technologies’ research and development for a market expansion that has to have strict compliance with the Philippine Halal Products Standards. By doing so, they are aiming for a fair share in the global halal market, now worth $ 150 billion in international food trade statistics.

Poultry production is fast becoming an investment opportunity in ARMM the BIMP EAGA and other parts of the country. Muslim countries, such as those of the Middle East have high demands for Halal products, meaning those that are processed in accordance with Islamic laws and tradition.

Being certified halal products by the MMHCB (for both food non food products like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) will mean such products are good for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, because ‘halal certification’ means international health standards are complied with. These standards are: HACCP (hazard analysis critical control for products); GMP (good manufacturing practices (both prerequisite BFAD certification) and ISO (International Standardization Organization)

The MMHCBI, which crafted the Philippine Halal Products Standards, is composed of five muftis (Guardians of House of Opinion) of the ARMM provinces and food technologists, chemists, nutritionists and scientists of widely-recognized erudition in their fields of expertise on both the Islamic Sharia law and food science.

Local Governance Support Program in the ARMM (LGSPA) has aided the MMHCBI in numerous areas of capacity-building and institutional linkages, resulting among others to the crafting of the Philippine Halal Standards and its acceptance by Muslim religious authorities and food experts here and abroad. LGSPA is the capacity-building program of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The MMHCB has also had the recognition of its equally reputable counterparts in Malaysia and Thailand with which it had entered into memorandums of understanding and agreements for a continuing working cooperation.

Ebrahim said the August 28 meeting, convened here by the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), will also be attended by officials and representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry in the ARMM, the Department of Agriculture and Food in ARMM; the ARMM Regional Board of Investment, and national officials of the Department of Agriculture, the National Coordinator for Philippine Halal Industry Development and MEDCo officials.

In efforts at gaining for the country a share from the huge global market for halal, the meeting has been organized by the Department of Agriculture in Region 10, through DA Region 12 Assist. Director Ismael Mustapfa, the government’s national coordinator for its Halal Industry Development Program.

source : http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p080827.htm&no=61

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) — The Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), will propose the enactment of a Halal Act to the government.

Its managing director/chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said the corporation was currently in the process of drafting the Act which would help monitor and prevent misuse of the halal certification in the country.

“In Malaysia, we don’t have a specific Act for enforcement with regards to the misuse of the halal certification,particularly among restaurant owners,” he told reporters here Wednesday.

“We hope with the establishment of the Act, the whole cycle of halal integrity would be protected,” he said.

He said the process of drafting the Act is expected to be completed by next year.

Currently, a total of 26 hotels and 500 restaurants nationwide have been granted the halal certification.

The HDC was established in 2006 as a private company fully owned by the Ministry of Finance.It was recently given the responsibility of issuing the Malaysian Halal Certificate, taking over the function from the Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim).

The HDC has been tasked by the government to capitalise on the multi-trillion dollar global halal industry. It has also been handed the mandate to facilitate the growth of the halal economy in Malaysia while making the country the premier referral centre and hub.

This is to be done by providing comprehensive halal certification, research and development as well as infrastructure growth support.

Jamil said the HDC had created a range of halal training programmes to increase understanding and develop human capital within the industry.

He said the training programmes catered to the general public and for both Muslims and non-Muslims.

source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=355621

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI: “Can Brunei be the Google of Halal?” The question put forward by the leader of a global open source community project called ADempiere Bazaar based in Berlin, drew plenty of intrigue and interest from the audience during an international halal market conference in Brunei.

Introducing the concept of ‘halal software’ to an audience for the first time, ADempiere Bazaar’s Redhuan Daniel Oon said it rings an opportunity for Brunei to position itself to become the ‘Google’ among the Muslim nations in new applications built upon successful open source applications.

“What Brunei can do in the sense of becoming a ‘Google’ is that it can specialise in something and give a brand promise to the market. What Google promised was ‘I’m faster’. So Brunei can say something like, ‘I’m cleaner,’ or ‘I’m more focused because I’m not doing anything else,” he said. Redhuan, an advocate of the link between halal and open source, said the concept of ‘halal software’ is not just about software to support the halal industry but also about the handling of the software itself. (By HADI ADI DP MAHMUD/ The Brunei Times/ AsiaNews)

source : http://www.mysinchew.com/node/15367

KUWAIT: Thailand’’s cuisine has achieved a meteoric rise in popularity and now stands proudly as a staunch international favorite alongside the world’’s longtime champions.
But as Thailand’’s food exports are growing by as much as eight percent per annum, the country has been slow in catering to the international halal food market, an industry that is estimated to be worth somewhere around one trillion U.S. dollars per year.
The word halal is an Arabic term that means permissible, and when used in relation to food means that its contents, preparation or the techniques for slaughter animals are inline with Islamic law.
It has been reported that 70 percent of the world’’s Muslim population of two billion people follow halal food standards, a massive demographic that Thailand, which follows an agricultural policy of making itself ”the kitchen of the world”, simply cannot afford to ignore.
While 10 percent of Thailand’’s population of 64 million are Muslim, it is the general lack of information concerning what constitutes halal and non?halal food that is blamed by many experts as the reason why the country has not been more competitive in the field. While it may have fallen behind its Muslim neighbor Malaysia in the field, Thai Muslim and non?Muslim food producers are increasingly making use of government and privately funded facilities to learn how to make their products halal and attain internationally recognized certification that confirms their strict adherence to Islamic procedures. Surprisingly, the world’’s largest producer of halal food is Brazil and the largest consumer is the United States, a little known fact that underscores the fact that only 20 percent of the world’’s Muslims live in the Middle East.
The Central Islamic Committee of Thailand (CICOT) is leading the charge to elevate Thailand into an international heavyweight in the field through its Institute for Halal Food Standards of Thailand, a government funded project that aims to ensure that the development and certification of halal food standards complies with the provisions of the Islamic religion and correspond to international standards. The CICOT is an entity that runs under the office of the Shiekhul Islam of Thailand Sawas Sumalyasak, a position which is regarded as the leader of Thai Muslims and which is appointed by the Thai king to act as his personal advisor on all issues related to Islam. Also up and running since 2003 is the Halal Science Center (HSC) of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, a world?class laboratory that provides state?of?the?art halal accreditation services by checking for prohibited animal proteins, alcohol and the presence of microbes that can be indicative of unclean and non?Islamic methods of food production. According to CICOT statistics, 1,000 companies were certified to produce halal food in Thailand in 2004, and that number has grown since then. But according CICOT sources, Thailand has over 20,000 food producers and 50 percent of them are able to produce halal food if they change simple procedures, a move which could boost halal food exports five to tenfold.
One major Thai food producer that is throwing its resources towards competing in the international halal food market is Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods Public Company Limited, the flagship of Charoen Pokphand Group’’s agro?industrial business in Thailand, which operating agro?industrial businesses related to animal farming and food manufacturing for the Thailand and international markets. CP Group boasts a range of halal certified food products that are exported internationally yet remains underexploited as a cost effective producer as only a fraction of its halal goods are imported by Middle East countries due to Thailand’’s lack of a reputation for such foods.
While 1,200 other Thai manufacturers exported halal products worth almost two billion U.S. dollars in 2007, only twenty percent went to the Middle East and the rest were exported to Malaysia and other Muslim countries in Asia. With the concerted efforts of government officials and entrepreneurs in Thailand, along with recent successful inspections of Thai halal food manufacturers by the UAE’’s municipality and the Muslim World League, Thai meat products will almost certainly start to become a increasingly popular in Middle Eastern countries as local merchants realize the tremendous benefits that trading with the world’’s largest rice exporter entails.

source : http://alwatan.com.kw/Default.aspx?MgDid=662876&pageId=476