Halal Certification

Introduction

Halal means permitted or lawful, it is an Arabic term used in the Muslim Holy Book. According to this, it is the responsibility of a Muslim to ensure that any food consumed or any businesses performed in their daily lives are clean, hygienic, and not detrimental to either their health or well-being. Halal promotes cleanliness in all aspects of a person. Halal is the new benchmark for quality.

It is important to understand the concept of Halal to understand the meaning and implications of the Halal certification. It is a definition that includes the collection of practices that are permitted by the Muslim religion and since this word incorporates all kinds of practices, it is generally associated with food that is appropriate according to Sharia, or Islamic law, being beneficial and healthier practices for people that provide fewer health risks and an increase in the quality of life.

It is the document issued by the exporting country's Muslim authority in which it is certified that a certain agri-food or pharmaceutical product meets the requirements for its consumption by the Muslim population as required by Islamic Law.

The Halal Institute is one of the bodies that manage the Halal certification, and it is necessary to satisfy the following requirements to obtain such certification:

a. Not to include or contain anything deemed unlawful under Islamic law in its composition.

b. Food must be cooked, processed, transported, or stored using equipment or media which are excluded under Islamic law from what is unlawful.

c. Not having been in direct contact with other foods that do not meet the requirements set out above.

Who needs Halal certification

Companies that export food material to Islamic countries need to get the halal certification of their manufactured product.

Companies are having halal certification of their goods so that they can sell their products to Islamic countries. It should be noted that the followers of Islam make up 1.8 billion world population, i.e. 24.1 percent of the world population. On top of that, in many Islamic countries, only halal-certified foods are permitted.

According to many studies, the halal food industry accounts for about 19 percent of the global food market. Therefore, several businesses are having their goods halal-certified to reach the wider markets, to meet the demand and supply chain.

Conditions of Application

a. You must start your Halal productions before any inspection can be carried out.

b. Enzymes, Emulsifiers, Blood & Blood by-products, Pork, lard, its by-products, and Alcohol are not to be used for production or preservation. They cannot be used in any of the animal-based ingredients, such as Gelatin and Shortenings. They must be derived from a Halal source. 

c. Halal products should not in the course of preparation, processing, transportation, or storage been in contact with Non-Halal products

d. Mixing of Halal and Non-Halal foods and materials, which may occur during preparation, collection, washing, or storing must be avoided. A separate washing and drying equipment for such items must be provided.

e. Few Muslim staffs must be appointed at Halal manufacturing unit and all staff must not bring Non-Halal Foods or Beverages onto the production area. 

f. An establishment, which is awarded a Halal certificate, is allowed to affix the Halal Logo of our office on its products and display it on its premises. 

Procedure and Documentation

PROCEDURE FOR CERTIFICATION:

The certification process involves carrying out company assessments, through the recorded assessment of the company's quality and manufacturing processes, through the assessment of test samples obtained at the factory and the finished goods. Around the same time, the workers involved in the various manufacturing phases are measured, such as slaughterers, cutting, processing, delivery, etc.

At the Halal Institute the certification process consists of the following phases:

a. Application to Certify

b. Documents review

c. Certification by audit phase 1 (correction of critical findings)

d. Certification in Phase 2 audit (Correction of critical findings)

e. Evaluation and opinion

f. The initial issue of certification

g. Annual audit

h. Annual certification issue

FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS MUST BE ENCLOSED WITH THE APPLICATION FAILURE WILL BE REJECTED.

a. Application on your official letterhead

b. Name and Nature of each product individually.

c. Details of materials used for manufacturing and preserving the product. 

d. Assurance from your company that the products are manufactured as per the Halal certifying conditions of the Halal Certificate of India and the products are not preserved with Pork, its lard and by-products, Alcohol, and any of the animal-based ingredients, such as gelatin and shortenings. The preservatives must be derived from Halal sources. 

e. Govt. licensed Laboratory certificate showing the ingredients of your product. (Further our office may make necessary arrangements to reconfirm the analysis report by the Govt. licensed Laboratory) 

f. Copy of the Export license. 

g. If you obtain any export order currently please enclose a copy of the same showing the Quantity of each product, and name of the countries where the products are to be exported. 

h. Specimen of the products with their original packing. 

i. If certification for the whole manufacturing unit is needed, please enclose a Diagram of the production area attached to Laboratory

j. Upon receipt of the application, a team of halal experts visit your unit for inspection.