IHIA Global Halal Certification Program Roll Out

22 Apr 2009

After three years of intense lobbying, Intertek held the IHIA Global Halal Certification Program Roll Out. The roll out took place in Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 11 - 12, 2009 hosted by Intertek and IHIA (International Halal Integrity Alliance). Over 45 Intertek employees participated from 18 countries including, Bangladesh, Brazil (represents Latin America), Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (represents Middle East), United Kingdom, United States of America (represents North America) and Vietnam. The roll out was also attended by KasehDia, an essential Halal partner of Intertek as well as Halal scholars from Malaysia who attended as Intertek’s Halal partnered consultants.

The event opened with comments from Paul Yao, the CEO of Intertek Consumer Goods, where excitement was conveyed on the launch of Global Halal Certification as Intertek’s latest innovative service. The launch of the program comes at a time where the demand for Halal certified product worldwide is steadily increasing.

Darhim Hashim, the CEO of IHIA stated, “Our job does not stop here. Instead the real hard work is only about to begin.” He went on to express IHIA intentions to maintain the IHIA and Intertek partnership, pledging continuous support of the validity and integrity of their Global Halal System Certification.

The first day of roll out was covered of in depth socialization of Global Halal Certification. Pitak Supanantakarn, Food Services Director for Asia Pacific and Country Manager of Intertek Consumer Goods Thailand, shared some business updates including the approval of Intertek Philippines’ laboratory as a testing partner by OMA (the Office of Muslim Affairs). Pitak stated, “Halal is not product claim, but process claim.” In order to achieve the key factors for success, Pitak seeks commitment and support from Senior Management and Country Heads among Intertek Group.

IHIA Lead Halal auditor Dino Khalid and Sandy Bucao, a member of Intertek Halal technical team and Country Manager of Intertek Consumer Goods Philippines conducted training for potential Intertek Halal auditors at the event.. What distinguishes Global Halal Certification checklist from any other Halal audit checklist is that it is not only based on Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene and HACCP, but also integrates social responsibility and environment protection, apart from Halal fundamental requirements. In addition, one-on-one consultation was also provided to Regional Business Directors and Country Managers by Intertek Halal team members and Darhim himself, which tailored to each country’s specific needs.

The Global Halal Certification Program Roll Out has produced high hopes and optimism among the participants understanding there are immense opportunities for Global Halal Certification. Michael Ong, Intertek Halal Team Leader and Regional Director of Intertek South and Middle Asia, ended his closing speech by asking all the participants and all fellow colleagues within Intertek to actively contribute to the business success of Global Halal Certification. Moving forward, to enhance the validity of Global Halal Certification, Intertek and IHIA will work closely on multi-lateral platforms, such as the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and World Halal Forum to seek endorsements by various governments, such as those from ASEAN countries and Muslim Authorities. The Global Halal Certification Program is ready to be marketed worldwide as the first certification program of its kind.

Profile:

International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHIA)

IHI Alliance is a non-profit, non-government body set up to uphold the integrity of Halal in the global market through collaboration, recognition and membership. IHIA has formed a strategic partnership with the Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI). Together with the ICCI, the organization has obtained the mandate from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to develop a global Halal agenda for the OIC.