@Halal July/August 2020 | Page 16

16 Science Talk @Halal | July-august. 2020 by Nor Amin Haziq Chairman, Global Haltech Halal verified sticker as part of halal assurance practice Halal is very crucial and also a sensitive issue for Muslims. Therefore, the halal industry is fast-growing due to its high commercial and economic value. That is the reason why the halal concept should be considered seriously by the authorities. Approval and monitoring of halal status products are significant as the halal status of products depends on the state of ingredients used, and its process flow practise. Control, enforcement and monitoring of products are highly-needed to maintain the quality and integrity of halal-certified products to ensure no persecution and misappropriation occur to Muslim consumers, especially in Malaysia. Authorities such as JAKIM and all Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri have to play their role as most of the products are prepared by the complex formulation of recipes and using imported ingredients. With so many cases of cross-contamination of porcine happening lately, especially in halal-certified products, the halal status would be more convincing if scientifically-proven. HALAL STICKER Halal sticker is a sticker placed on packaging to show a product has been scientifically verified through lab analysis that all ingredients involved are porcine-free and do not exceed the limit for alcohol. The objective of the halal sticker programme is to enhance the integrity of halal-certified products. The sticker is allowed once a certified and recognised laboratory tests the product. This programme is for both categories of halal, which are: i) Halal-certified status products The products are already halal-certified by a local or international halal authority. As most of the halal bodies grant two years validity, reaudit only proceeds in the next two years. Within two years, anything can happen to the halal-certified product, such as crosscontamination and mishandling of product from factory to market shelf. By having a halal sticker, it shows a halal lab monitors the product. It will create higher confidence in the consumer that halal status is retained. In this case, the halal sticker as a halal-monitoring process is an assurance practice. ii) Non-halal-certified status products The product is not necessarily non-halal but has yet to be certified by the halal authority. However, this category is practised for a different purpose in non-Muslim countries compared to a Muslim country like Malaysia. Anyway, using of halal stickers would be the best practise in non-Muslim countries where the Muslim population is a minority. Non-Muslim Country In non-Muslim countries, most of the halal authority are by Muslim NGOs and Mosque committee. Their roles are to monitor the halalness of products for the sake of Muslim minorities. As they are not officially recognised to become a halal authority, they are faced with specific restrictions to be recognised as a halal-certification body by Jakim or any government agency. It would be a bit of a problem to push manufacturers for products which are daily needs of Muslims. Thus, the halal sticker is proposed so that it is more comfortable for Muslims to identify halal products. Muslim Country The halal sticker practised in Muslim countries is a bit different as the halal authority has stringent requirements on the halal certification process. Halal-certified products are closely-monitored by halal bodies in Muslim countries to ensure the halal status is at its integrity. But, there are problems during the halalcertification process, especially for the small and medium entrepreneur category. The said problems may lead them to fail in their business. The halal sticker may help them for the following reasons: • Easy access to marketing Any business investment needs to gain returns soonest possible for sustainability. When the product is ready to be marketed, halal-certification is highly value-added in a Muslim country. However, due to lack of experience in halal compliance and budget constraints, the halal-certification process may take time. A few requirements needed by the authorities may prolong the process, but entrepreneurs need to generate revenue from the product sale for daily operation. It delays the product to the market. It is how the halal sticker can solve the problem. The sticker is granted once the lab result proves it does not contain porcine and does not exceed the limit for alcohol. The halal-testing process takes a few days to be completed and has minimal costs. While waiting for the halal certificate, which may take months, the product can still be marketed to generate income. • Market test