Described as a “Halal Facebook,” the new social networking phenomenon, Salamworld, set to hit the Muslim world during the fasting month of Ramadan, will create an Internet platform for Muslims of all ages. The headquarters of the company are located in Istanbul.
Dr Temple Grandin has made humane treatment of cattle, her life’s work. She consults to Arrowsight in the US and has helped design over half of all the cattle abattoirs in North America. She says cameras have stopped false reporting by supervisors.
THE live export industry is facing fresh pressure to clean up its act with new vision of cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs uncovered by animal activists, despite strict new rules for exporters being in place for nearly six months.
Yvonne Maffei of My Halal Kitchen interviews Ahmad Adam. “I would say that Mr. Ahmad Adam, the entrepreneur behind Crescent Foods, is doing more than just bring us all great chicken. He’s changing the way we think about halal, community, and the ability to rise to greater potential in this market.”
There are over 400 sharia scholars worldwide but only around 15 to 20 prominent and experienced ones, which creates demand for scholars to sit on multiple boards. The top 20 scholars hold 14 to 85 positions each, occupying a total of around 620 board positions or 55 percent of the industry.
Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, founder & President of Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products USA/Canada presented a paper on Processing Aid or Hidden Ingredients in Food Products & ingredients and their Halal status from US food industry point of view at First International Conference on Halal Food Control at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Malaysian exporters are going to find it challenging given the expected slowdown in global trade volume in 2012, but Matrade will focus on iconic events which will have a “lasting” impact on Malaysian brands.
Converting a conventional business to a Shariah-compliant entity can increase the value of a company by 18-25 per cent due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments, but the process involves various risks, said Swiss banking group, Bank Sarasin.
The Tourism Bureau yesterday said it aimed to have 50 restaurants certified as Muslim-friendly as it looks at options to further tap into the Muslim tourist market. The cost of hosting Muslims is slightly higher than that of non-Muslim tourists, but the Halal certification would help hotels attract more tourists from Muslim nations.
“With the Halal Food Guarantee Act, halalan thoyyiban is no longer engineering, there is a scientific spirit, worship, and theology,” Ahmad Mukri Aji, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Faculty of Shari’ah Law explained. The Act which is the implementation of Article 28 UUD 1945, according to Ahmad, will also strengthen the LP POM MUI who had been dealing with halal certification.
Presenting his report to the HMC National Executive Committee, Shaykh Yunus said; “This was a
very important conference for the Muslim community around the world and we congratulate the Saudi Drug and Food Authority for an outstanding conference and wonderful hospitality.”
The Council of Arab Economic Unity is in Malaysia for the first time to enhance economic ties as well as for the Malaysia Global Business Forum-Strategic Partners-Malaysia and The Arab World held at the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) on Tuesday. The Secretary General said that Muslim and Arab countries should work very hard towards enhancing the halal standard and promoting halal products.
“The ministry is working on an ambitious project of halal certification, an instrument that allows a marriage of Italian excellence and the guarantee of production respecting Islamic rules, which brings significant potential for opening towards markets connected to precise religious principles,” the director of the department of trade internationalisation at the ministry, Patrizia Giarratana, said.
At the largest food trade fair in the Middle East, Gulfood, it was revealed that McDonald’s is expected to open 100 new outlets this year with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Currently, the Golden Arches has 833 restaurants in 17 markets in the Middle East and Africa – a growth rate of between 10 to 15 per cent every year.
Levant Capital, an investment firm focused on regional private equity investments and Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) said they have jointly acquired a controlling stake in Saudi-based Al-Raya For Foodstuff Company for $100 million. The transaction presents an opportunity for Levant Capital and CVCI to capitalize on the growth in consumer-driven demand and the increasingly attractive middle income segment of the Gulf region’s largest economy.
Under the terms of the agreement, M/s Neat Foods will be the sole partner of Al Islami in Pakistan to develop and re-export Al Islami products in Pakistan and in the international market. In addition, Neat Foods is constructing a state-of-the-art food production plant equipped with latest food production machinery.
Midamar has been attending Gulfood since the first show was organized more than 25 years ago and was the first American company to participate in the event. Midamar has been promoting premium quality, USDA Certified US beef and poultry products in the Middle East and South East Asia for over 35 years.
There is still a need for good coordination among related authorities in the country on halal regulation and certification in order to address the growing gap between authorities and industry players in the halal industry.
Islamic Finance news – IFN Today, Thursday, 17th May 2012
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