KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) — The Halal Industry
Development Corporation (HDC) aims to penetrate deeper into
international markets, especially the United States, Europe and Japan.
Managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamil
Bidin said HDC had been aggressively focusing on capturing the
international markets since it assumed the responsibility for halal
certification from the Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) on April
17, 2008.
“To date, we have issued halal certifications for 527 companies in
the Malaysian market and 16 companies in international markets,” he
said at a news conference here today.
About 1,000 applications for halal certification have been received from the Malaysian market, he added.
HDC kicked off the two-day International Halal Certification
Dialogue at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today, bringing together
some of the world’s leading researchers and entrepreneurs in the global
halal industry.
In total, 47 Islamic bodies from 23 nations are represented at the event.
HDC chairman Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim, in his opening
address, said the desire to ensure that the entire production and
manufacturing processes involved in the global economy was
halal-compliant had led to an increasing level of awareness among
Muslims and non-Muslims.
Among the new developments in the halal industry was in genetically-modified food, he said.
HDC vice president of halal integrity Mariam Abdul Latif said at
the news conference that genetically-modified food was acceptable as
being halal-compliant as long as it was sourced from halal-based
materials.
According to Jamil, the main challenge facing the industry is obtaining halal-based raw materials.
He said the industry could benefit from halal-based certification
which provided assurances in quality and safety of products for the
mass market, especially with the current outbreak of
melamine-contaminated products in the market.
He also said that consumer confidence and integrity were placed in the halal certification.
According to Syed Jalaludin, there is tremendous potential for halal products worldwide.
He said even at its relatively early phase of development, some
estimates placed the current size of the global halal market at US$2.1
trillion.