UAE: Al Islami announces Dhs100m processed food facility in Dubai

Saleh Abdullah Lootah, Board Member of Al Islami Foods.
Saleh Abdullah Lootah, Board Member of Al Islami Foods.

Al Islami Foods, the halal food company in the Middle East, announced that it will soon establish a new state-of-the-art food processing facility at an investment of Dhs100m, to meet the increasing regional demands for high-quality halal food products.

The 11,500-square-foot facility will be located in Dubai Investment Park and is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as the capital of the Islamic economy.

Announced earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed’s vision for a Halal economy includes Islamic financial instruments, Islamic insurance, Islamic contracts’ arbitration, Islamic food industry and trade standards (Halal food), and Islamic quality management standards.

The construction of Al Islami’s facility will begin early next month and is expected to be completed by end 2014. Once complete, the plant will be able to process more than 1500 metric tons of meat per month. Al Islami strictly enforces high quality standards where the meat is exclusively sourced from farms where the real halal process of no-stunning and hand slaughtering is followed. The plant will be equipped with the latest machinery and technologies to produce many categories of products such as sausages, burgers, minced meat, nuggets, amongst many others, conforming to world standards under very stringent hygienic conditions.

Saleh Abdullah Lootah, Board Member of Al Islami Foods, pointed out that the new factory is another milestone in the 40-year history of Al Islami and will reinforce the company’s position as a regional industry leader in halal processed food.

“The new plant is in line with our expansion strategy and will help us to satisfy the increasing regional demand for food products of global standards,” Lootah said. “This latest development is also an example of our commitment to continue to invest in the UAE economy and build it as a world leader of the halal economy.”

Additionally, the strategy behind the establishment of the new facility is to ensure a minimum production time for all products from the farm to the production facility, which in turn will result in fresh and healthy halal products.

“Al Islami will continue to strictly adhere to its policy of supplying Real Halal products that meet the regulatory standards of local & international markets. With the ever increasing demand in the local & international markets for Halal products, this production facility comes in at the right time,” Lootah said.