From Ng Che Yean
YINCHUAN, Jan 2 (Bernama) — Fahim Technologies Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian company, is expanding its halal integrity management solution service to Ningxia, north-west China’s Muslim autonomous region.
Executive Chairman Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad Badawi, of Ibrahim Holdings Bhd, the parent company of Fahim Technologies, said Fahim worked together with the Ningxia provincial government to develop Ningxia as the first hub for its halal integrity management solution in China via a joint-venture company, Ningxia Fahim International Halal Industry Co Ltd.
He said the Chinese authorities need to address the people’s misperception about food products safety in China, while China’s central government thinks that Ningxia should take the lead in the halal industry.
The Halal integrity management solution could help build up credibility and confidence in safety and quality of food products in China, he said.
“Food safety is a critical issue for China,” he told BERNAMA.
Ibrahim said the Ningxia Hui Autonomous government was excited over Fahim’s introduction of the solution and it was keen to cooperate with the company to develop the system.
He said the joint-venture entity comprising Ningxia Fahim International Halal Industry, Fahim Technologies and Ningxia Autonomous Region government-owned Ningxia Comprehensive Agricultural Investment Co Ltd was established specially to develop products for the Muslim market.
Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attended the joint-venture company’s launch.
“Our target is not only Muslims but also non-Muslims. I was told by some Chinese people that they preferred halal food products to allay food safety concerns as halal in Chinese literally means pure and good,” he said.
Halal integrity management solution is an integrated monitoring system which can track halal products inflow from the source to end-users (farm to fork) throughout the entire value chain and monitor halal status of products to ensure safety and product quality.
The system was developed by an IBM team in Melbourne and sponsored by Fahim Technologies over the past three years.
Ibrahim said Ningxia would be the first hub to apply Fahim’s Halal integrity solution and would expand to other provinces and to global level with strong support from its partner, IBM.
“Where there is an IBM branch, there is potential to be the next hub, and eventually the solution will go global,” he said.
Fahim Technologies, Ningxia Fahim International and IBM China Company Limited signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec 29 to cooperate in the halal products safety control system.
Currently, about 85 per cent of the raw materials for halal food products in Malaysia were imported from countries like New Zealand, Australia and india, but Malaysia can be the leader in halal management system by providing solutions and experience to help other countries and companies develop their food safety management, he added.
Ningxia Fahim is the company’s second joint-venture company in a foreign country. The firm has formed a 50:50 joint venture in Jordan.
— BERNAMA
