Halal is not enough on its own

Food graded as halal should take into account far more than just how the animal is slaughtered, said Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin, CEO of the Halal Industry Development Corporation in Malaysia.

“The mindset of consumers has shifted,” said Bidin at the Gulfood conference on Wednesday. “It has moved from caring solely about the physical product attributes to spiritual, social, environmental and sustainability issues.”

“You must be able to show your credentials to act in a green way, to be socially responsible and to see the bigger picture at every stage of the supply chain. The integrity of what halal means must be preserved in a wholly traceable way.”

At the Halal Industry Development Corporation, Bidin is proposing a uniform standard of halal food to be implemented all across the world.

“We are making an effort to harmonise the standard of halal food so that it becomes more than just a logo or certificate and really means something. We want it to be on a par with other industry standards in the world.”