Malaysia: Critical issues discussed during World Halal Council meeting at MIHAS 2012

Critical issues discussed during World Halal Council meeting at MIHAS 2012

Various critical halal issues were deliberated and discussed at the World Halal Council’s (WHC) mid-year Executive Committee meeting, held on the sidelines of the International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2012), currently ongoing  from 4 – 7th April at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia.

The main issues discussed include the worldwide consumer’s concern about machine slaughter, gelatine and the Halal permissibility of cloned animals, as well as the use of sausage casings in some well-known brands.

“Aside from these major concerns which affect both Muslims and non Muslims worldwide, WHC also discussed topics concerning mutual recognition and the need to assist and learn from each other,” said Mohamed El-Mouelhy, Secretary General of the World Halal Council.

Established in 1999, WHC is the most recognised umbrella body for Halal certifiers worldwide, made up of 39 Halal certification authorities from five continents.

WHC is the oldest established federation of Halal certifying bodies in the world, formed in a meeting in Jakarta in 1999. WHC’s main objective is to establish a unified Halal standard and safeguard the interests of Muslim consumers worldwide.

Four main sub committees make up the World Halal Council, including the Executive Committee, the Membership Committee, the Technical & Development Committee and the Religious / Shariah Committee.

“Mutual recognition has been the single most important aspect of this federation and we are glad that we could find that in Malaysia every April. Our members come here from around the world every year to meet and to recognise Malaysia as the leading country when it comes to Halal,” added Mohamed.

“Malaysia and MIHAS are indeed the perfect venue to discuss the way forward for all Halal certifying bodies worldwide, so we can work together towards uniformity in regulations and standards.”

“WHC is grateful for the help afforded to it by MIHAS, which has established itself as the premier Halal Food Expo in Asia and WHC is happy to be associated with it,” he added: “the Executive Committee has also decided to go on a membership drive and to establish a website with the help of MIHAS Secretariat.

The WHC Annual General Meeting will be held in Manila, the Philippines on 24-25 November 2012. For more info, email info@halalauthority.org

ABOUT WORLD HALAL COUNCIL

World Halal Council (WHC) was established in Jakarta in the year 1999. WHC is a global organization of halal certifiers from all over the world. Its founding members are LPPOM-MUI (Indonesia), IFANCA (USA), USA Halal Chamber (USA), SICHMA (Australia), ICCV (Australia), AFIC (Australia), HCAA (Australia), HFFIA (Netherlands), and HCO (Netherlands). Later were joined by IDCP (Philippines), IFRC Asia (Malaysia) and many others.

In 2007, WHC Charter was accepted, WHC holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in different countries. Among the venues for its AGM are Jakarta, Cape Town, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Shandong and Istanbul. To date, the total members of WHC have reached 30 members from all continents.

The vision of WHC is to protect the integrity of the Islamic injunctions and guidance for the taking only what is Halal among Muslims. Its mission is to unite all halal certifiers worldwide towards one halal guideline and standard in carrying out their duties in conducting halal certification.

For more information, please contact :

World Halal Council Secretariat

Naili Hastika A. Fahim

Tel: +603-7726 3466, +603-7726 5466

Fax: +603-7726 3472