Halal Certification for Permited Food Training and Awareness
Halal products or foods are now attaining a comprehensive analysis due to its recognition as an alternative standard for safety, hygiene, and quality affirmation of what we consume or drink daily. Thus Muslim consumers, as well as consumers from other religions, accept the products or foods without any hesitation that are produced in conformity with halal prescriptions. Muslim consumers use only Halal foods and drinks because the product ingredients are permissible by Islamic law. On the contrary, it represents the symbol of hygiene, quality, and safety product for a non-Muslim consumer, when produced strictly under the Holistic Halal Assurance Management System. Therefore, nowadays, consumers are much concerned and mostly aware of the things they eat, drink, and use. The awareness of the Muslim and non-Muslim consumers expresses their perception and intellectual reaction to products or foods in the market. Therefore, understanding of halal is an internal state or an innate feeling of Muslims realistic attitude towards the products/foods they used or consumed. The sources of knowledge on halal products or foods of Muslim consumers are addressed and determined by Islam that plays a significant role in awareness about halal in the life of Muslims.
Halal logo (labeling) is associated with several complications being the only source of halal awareness for Muslim consumers. Moreover, the logo also is yet to be factually proven, as well. Some of the potential sources of Muslim consciousness about halal consumption are a religious belief, exposure, certification logo, and health reason. However, health reason is the most contributing predictor of the level of halal knowledge.
Halal awareness is the level of knowledge a Muslim has about halal concept and requirements. Halal food in the context of understanding reflects a condition in which consumers have an interest, specific attention, or have good experience and information about food permitted by Islamic law. According to Aziz & Chok, 2013, Halal awareness has a significant influence on explaining the purchase intention of halal goods. In the year 2014, Ambali and Bakar found that four factors played an important role in shaping Muslim consumers' awareness of halal products in Malaysia: religious beliefs, health factors, exposure, and the role played by halal certification. Consumers are more concerned with hygienic and healthy food, thus are more careful and selective in their dietary plan.
A globally acclaimed organization, Halal Research Council (HRC), is functioning on Halal certifications to provide the needs of Halal food and nutrition. Apart from non-food agencies, the organization caters worldwide assistance, especially in the FMCG sectors, with state-of-the-art services of Advisory & consultancy, Halal Certification, Education, and Training.
Halal Research Council certifies the products under the respectful coordination of recognized Shariah Supervisory Board, highly qualified food technologists, chemical engineers, and R&D professionals. The eligibility for Certification pass through research-based methodology scrutinizing the sources of substances, examining the entire supply chain, chemical examination, and analyzing Shariah prospects of ingredients used in the products.scrutinizing the sources of ingredients, examining the entire supply chain, chemical examination and analyzing Shariah prospects of ingredients used in the products.
The Halal food products are recognized and accepted rapidly as a new benchmark for quality and safety assurance throughout the world. Halal-certified food products are immediately acceptable by Muslim consumers because it is permissible by Islam, wholesome, and meets safety aspects of hygiene and sanitation. These attributes appeal to non-Muslims as well. However, most of the people are ignorant of the concept of Halal or the procedure of manufacturing involved with it.
Therefore, it is necessary to have Halal Food Management campaign to raise mass awareness of the aim of Halal food processing, preparation and the label on food item so that people can choose the quality food without any doubt. The campaign is targeted as much for Muslims as for non-Muslims.
The Council organize well-structured training programs based on specific methodologies that include lectures/Slide Show/Multimedia Presentations, Class discussions and experience sharing (Q&A Session), and Individual and group work presentation. Personalities like food expert technologist and chief executive officer, Halal research council, grace the training program as expert speakers.
The halal Food management system should be well-synchronized, including the laws, the enforcement team and the support of investigative facilities to achieve continuous confidence from Muslims worldwide.
Requirenments of Halal Certification
As most of the countries now want to cater to the customers in the gulf countries, they must have a halal certificate for their product as it is mandatory for these countries. The requirements for Halal certification includes the following.
- a) The raw materials used for manufacturing of the products must meet the halal guidelines.
- b) The manufacturing practice that is being used for the manufacturing of the products must have approval from the sharia or Islamic law as well as the Halal guidelines.
Once these requirements are met, the company can apply for the certification. The certifying authorities can plan a visit to verify the compliance with the halal guidelines. After the compliance is verified, the company is granted a halal certificate and the company becomes eligible to sell their products in a market that has halal certification mandatory.
What does it mean when food is Halal Certified?
When a food product has halal certification, it ensures the customers that it has been manufacturing keeping all the good manufacturing practices in mind and also it is permissible to consume it under Islamic law. The halal certification ensures that the quality of the food is best and the raw materials used for the manufacturing of the products are permitted under the sharia or Islamic law. It also means that the governments of Gulf countries have no objection if the product is imported in these countries as it has followed the halal guidelines during manufacturers.