Food hub

Nazatul Izma Abdullah discovers how Malaysia is keen to reinvent itself as a global centre for halal goods and services

For the present, Malaysia is branding itself as a global halal hub for food products. It has an edge: as an Islamic nation with a Muslim majority, Malaysian standards in halal certification are exacting. Since the concept of halal is rooted in Islamic laws, there is no room for compromise where halal accreditation is concerned. 'We must have assurance beyond reasonable doubt that a product is halal. If there is doubt, we do not issue the certification. Because in matters of halal, we are answerable both in this life and in the afterlife,' explained Mr Che Hassan Pahmi Che Mamat, Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), the lead federal agency in halal endorsement, and the only Malaysian body allowed to issue halal certificates for goods exported from Malaysia.

Determining the halalness of a product goes beyond ensuring that food is pork-free. Carnivorous animals, amphibians (frogs and mangrove crabs) and all insects except locusts and grasshoppers are not halal. Intoxicants in any form are also off-limits. Meat from permissible animals such as poultry and cattle must be slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rites to render them halal. Halal food also adheres to stringent standards in hygiene and sanitation, and must not be harmful to health. 'Halal food certification refers to the examination of food processes, from the preparation, slaughtering, ingredients used, cleaning, handling and processing, right down to transportation and distribution. The concept of halal food is truly from the farm to the table,' added Mr Che Hassan. In other words, Mr Syed Azauddin Syed Bahaldin from the International Islamic University defined food as halal when it is nutritious and palatable and prepared from permissible ingredients in a clean and hygienic manner.

Contamination from najs (filth as defined by Islamic law) or haram (prohibited) elements also renders food non-halal. Sticky areas include ingredients, genetically modified food and utensils used in processing. Cod liver oil may be halal, but the oil might be contained in a bovine gelatin capsule produced from cows that have not been slaughtered in line with Islamic rites, making the supplement non-halal. Cows might be halal animals, but splice their genes with porcine DNA, and the result is a haram hybrid. Dr Ahmad Robin Wahab from AmalMerge (M) Sdn Bhd, a halal and food safety consultant, pointed out that innocuous items like biscuits might list only halal ingredients such as flour, butter and sugar, but the egg-yolk glaze might be applied with a brush made from pig bristles, making the biscuits non-halal.

Logistics and packaging are vital too. Non-halal and halal goods must also be kept separately during transportation and distribution in order to prevent contamination. In Malaysia, it is common practice for supermarkets to display non-halal meats in a separate section from halal meats and seafood.

A strategic weapon in the battle for halal hegemony is Malaysia's halal logo or certification issued by JAKIM, which is internationally accepted and known for its rigorous standards. In fact, the JAKIM halal stamp is an acknowledged passport to Muslim markets. 'The JAKIM logo is accepted without question. It has international credibility and recognition. Multi-national companies like Nestlé, Unilever and Bristol Meyer use the JAKIM logo as a promotional tool to access global halal markets,' noted Mr Abdul Rahman Awang from the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The credibility of the JAKIM logo has led the Malaysian government to restrict its issuance overseas. In 2003, it was decreed that the JAKIM logo could only be used for products manufactured within Malaysia. Previously, JAKIM officials used to travel overseas to certify foreign products for Malaysian consumption, but these foreign companies then began exporting their products bearing the JAKIM logo to other markets. 'There was no economic benefit to Malaysia. Ironically, JAKIM bore the costs of these visits!' said Mr Abdullah Fahim, regional co-ordinator of IFANCA (the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America and also a global halal certification body), south-east Asia and a former JAKIM official.

Thus, restricting the JAKIM logo to Malaysian soil is a strategy to lure food manufacturers here. Key to the plan is getting resource-rich countries to set up their plants here, and produce JAKIM-certified halal goods for export and for local consumption. This would spearhead the local food industry, touted as a major buttress for the Malaysian economy in future.

But the strategy has its critics who say that Malaysia is no longer a low-cost economy and, furthermore, lacks sufficient capacity for food production. Currently, the country is a net food importer. Ideally, the country should shift food manufacturing to lower-cost centres through reverse investment in locations such as China, noted Dr Robin. 'Our role should be to add value through providing services such as halal management, logistics, and finance. In other words, we provide the system.'

No matter what, Malaysia needs to act fast to iron out the kinks in its halal strategy. It isn't the only country that covets halal markets. Stiff competition abounds from both Muslim and non-Muslim nations, including Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Thailand is singled out as being especially aggressive: it is busily setting up an industrial estate for halal food production in the mostly-Muslim southern province of Pattani and is negotiating with French hypermarket Carrefour to supply halal food to the latter's south-east Asian branches. Australia and New Zealand are major suppliers of halal meats to Muslim markets, including Malaysia and the Middle East.

One stubborn kink is urgency - or the lack of it. 'If Malaysia is serious about becoming a halal hub, it has to speed up the certification process,' said Mr Abdullah. Currently, it takes about two months to obtain halal certification from JAKIM once the customer has made payment, and all things are in order. In JAKIM's defence, thorough checks of ingredients, suppliers, equipment, premises, packaging materials and hygiene, as well as surprise on-site visits, lengthen the time factor. But the fact remains that to succeed as a global halal hub - like it did in Islamic finance - Malaysia needs to treat halal like any other business.

Nazatul Izma Abdullah is a freelance writer on business and finance issues, based in Malaysia.