170 Halal-certified hotel kitchens…and counting

Malaysia’s Halal Industry
Development Corporation (HDC) has certified the kitchens of 170 hotels
as halal as of June this year, its chief executive officer Datuk Seri
Jamil Bidin said Tuesday.

He said that five-star hotels accounted for 15 certificates,
four-star hotels 23 certificates, three-star hotels 101 certificates,
two-star hotels 14 certificates and others 17 certificates.

“We are hoping for more hotels to obtain the kitchen halal
certification from HDC to gain the unwavering confidence of consumers
towards their products and services,” he said at a media briefing here.

To date, HDC has received 149 new applications for halal
certification of the kitchens and 29 had so far been approved, Jamil
said.

He said the halal certification application from hotels as well as
the food and beverage industry was voluntary like other industries
which did not impose a compulsory requirement.

According to Jamil, HDC’s halal certification system has been
enhanced whereby the processing timeframe has been significantly
reduced so as not to hinder the applicants’ operations.

He attributed delays in the certification process to incomplete
application details, including awaiting document submission for
ingredients as well as payment fee and other non-compliance issues such
as hygiene.

“The halal logo on halal products is an indication of the halal
reliability and integrity associated with quality, hygiene and safety,”
Jamil said.

“We are committed to preserving the halal integrity at all times
and part of this undertaking is the stringent certification process,”
he said.