14
Opinion
@Halal | July-august. 2020
Halal lab testing:
The new norm
High time for an
industry that produces
and distributes halal
products to expand
its business
The halal industry has now
expanded far beyond the food
sector to include pharmaceuticals,
cosmetics and personal care, health
care products, medical devices as
well as service sectors such as
logistics, branding and marketing, original
equipment manufacturing and financial
services.
It is, therefore, high time for an industry
that produces and distributes halal products
to take this opportunity to expand their businesses.
However, there is also an increasing
demand for independent halal certification
from buyers and consumers.
As a result, when the number of products
increase, so do the numbers claiming
to be halal, leading to a demand for official
verification. Purchasers need to have trust
in their suppliers, and when trading in an
international market, it can be challenging to
be sure of the supplier’s authenticity without
recognised testing.
Laboratory Testing for halal
critical ingredients
The primary source for halal is from the
Quran and Sunnah. In our country, halal has
been defined in the legal provision of the
Trade Description (Definition of Halal) Order
2011.
It says that when foods or goods are
described as halal or are described in another
expression to indicate that the food can be
consumed or used by Muslim people, such
phrase means that the food or goods have
followed the requirements that have been
imposed by the Islamic law on foods and
goods.
It means such foods or products do not
contain any part or matter of an animal that
is prohibited by hukum syarak (i.e Islamic
By DR ZALINA
ZAKARIA
DIRECTOR
UNIVERSITY OF
MALAYA HALAL
RESEARCH CENTER
law) for a Muslim to consumer or that has not
been slaughtered following hukum syarak.
Also, it does not contain anything impure
according to hukum syarak, does not intoxicate
according to hukum syarak, does not
contain any part of human being or its yield
which are not allowed by hukum syarak, is
not poisonous or hazardous to health, has not
been prepared processed or manufactured
using any instrument that is contaminated
with impurity according to any food that fails
to satisfy the requirements mentioned above.
The requirements do cover not only food
and goods but also the processes of transporting,
storing and processing raw materials,
serving and retailing of such foods and goods.
If they are described as halal, such expression
would mean that the services concerning
foods and goods must also be carried out following
hukum syarak.
Cross-contamination
must be avoided
Although halal has been defined in the said
Order, it has never mentioned how these
foods or goods can be verified of their halal
ingredients/sources, especially now when a
lot of consumer goods, which are heterogeneous
and more technologically advanced,
are being introduced to consumers.
In other words, there is a need to verify the
ingredients used in the making of halal food
and products as being free of non-permitted
components. Even a simple product could
contain many critical ingredients.
Halal products also are subjected to issues
of cross-contamination. There was a big controversy
involving the halal status of a famous
chocolate company which was alleged to
contain porcine DNA in certain batches of
chocolate.
It was later affirmed by the Department
of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM-as
Malaysia’s halal competent authority) which
had verified that the laboratory test results
confirmed the two variants in the affected
batches were halal.
Although the statement by the authority
cleared the air, goodwill of the company
was damaged. Such an unfortunate incident
teaches us that we need to be vigilant not to
the spread any untrue information. Still, it
also tells us that halal testing is critical to
confirm if a product is halal or not.
The need for this testing will become more
pertinent, particularly as the consumption of
ready meals in the halal market increases. It
has been found that prepared meals are easily
contaminated and, therefore, has become an
area of the food sector that is increasingly
under the microscope.
Food testing laboratories similarly must
have segregated facilities to handle halal and
non-halal (or suspected non-halal) facilities.
Logistically, it can be very challenging.
Halal very much a
self-regulatory industry
But it is critical to have segregated facilities to
ensure reliable results. For them to be able to
offer the service confidently, labs often have
agreements to test each other.
Historically, this has been acceptable in
some countries, with halal being very much
a self-regulatory industry.
However, the growing demand and the
globalisation of the halal industry means that
international businesses now dictate more
formal and recognised methods of accreditation
are used.
Labs are coming under more and more
pressure to meet the International Standard
for Scientific Methods (ISO 17025), which is
internationally recognised and requires the
lab to be proficiency tested from an accredited
quality assurance body.
This demonstrates to the marketplace
competence in halal-testing. It is now a major
selling point for labs to meet ISO 17025 in, as
previously explained, a growing and significant
market.
The need to change is not exclusive to the
food manufacturers or the labs either. The
quality assurance bodies, who are responsible
for giving the labs accreditation, and ensuring
their testing methods are reliable, have also
needed to adapt.
NEXT ISSUE: Part 2