IFANCA® to Discuss Challenges and Opportunities for Halal Foods in the Global Market at IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo, Las Vegas – Session #256, Booth # 225, June 25-28 2012
Las Vegas, June 28, 2012 – As part of the four-day-long IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo, Las Vegas, Dr. Mohammed M. Chaudry, President, IFANCA, Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim, Research Professor of Food Sciences, North Carolina A & T State University, Dr. Angela M. Fraser, Associate Professor/Food Safety Education Specialist at Clemson University and Dr. Mian Riaz, Director, Food Protein R&D Center at Texas A&M University will speak on a panel about how companies could address the needs of consumers who observe religious halal and kosher dietary laws in the Islamic and Jewish faiths, respectively.
Food Scientist, Dr. Joe M. Regenstein is the keynote speaker. IFANCA staff will also be at booth #225 through the expo to answer questions about halal certification.
The presentations will cover challenges facing the food industry with regard to meeting the demand for such products in multinational global markets. “Besides business possibilities in the export market, audiences will also learn that there is a vibrant minority American Muslim or European Muslim community, as the case may be, that need halal products. These are lucrative yet ‘barely tapped’ markets,” said Dr. Ibrahim.
Dr. Chaudry will present why there is a need to certify products as halal and procedures for getting halal certification. Dr. Riaz will specifically discuss halal supplements. “The Islamic and Jewish traditions both permit the consumption of religiously questionable ingredients as a medicine for life-threatening diseases where no other cure is available. However, consumers may not want to knowingly consume multivitamins and other supplements that have ingredients that are doubtful, according to the rules of their faith. For instance, halal consumers hesitate when it comes to gelatin capsules,” said Dr. Riaz. “That is one of the reasons halal certification, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, is so important.” The session is under the Public Policy, Food Laws & Regulations and Product Development & Ingredient Innovations.
