IFANCA. is a U.S. corporation with a mission to promote the institution of halal by increasing awareness, educating consumers, and helping the industry in producing halal products. In cooperation with other organizations and agencies, it hopes to ensure everyone seeking halal products can find them locally, no matter where they reside. IFANCA was founded in 1982 by a group of food scientists, Islamic scholars, and industry professionals with knowledge and experience in industrial food production. The founders, halal consumers themselves, understood the challenges consumers faced in finding appropriate halal food in the USA. To tackle these issues they set up halal awareness, halal education, and halal certification programs. Many of these individuals continue to serve in leadership roles at IFANCA today.
There are several halal certifiers based in the United States but only one that is recognized by three key Islamic economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates – according to the latest published lists from the national authorities in those countries. Illinois-based Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) may have already made its name abroad as a leading U.S. halal certifier and now at home, the 37-year old institution is stepping up efforts to build a wider Islamic economy ecosystem.
Halal Focus interviewed Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, President and CEO of IFANCA to discuss the current status and the future of the halal economy.
Q: How is IFANCA enabling the growth of the halal economy?
IFANCA is a thought leader in the halal space and a key enabler of the halal economy. We have accomplished this by being a global leader in halal science, jurisprudence, and certification. Our in-depth knowledge of industrial practices and import requirements allows IFANCA to help manufacturers produce halal products in an efficient, halal assured manner and simplifies complex product information for consumers. Our halal quality system requirements have been implemented by global multinationals, SMEs, local producers, food service providers, and new startups to produce authentic, quality halal certified products that meet the stringent halal requirements.
Q: What are some factors that have enabled you to be a leader in the halal economy?
We have been able to establish a strong position because we have qualified and respected religious advisors, technical experts, deep industry experience, and a global network of industry and governmental partners. We bring this brain trust together every year to discuss technical challenges and opportunities in the halal economy at the IFANCA International Halal Food Conference. Stakeholders come from around the world to participate in discussions to address the current and future issues in halal compliance and market development.
Q: What are some things that are happening around the world that are facilitating the halal economy?
Outside the United States, we see a growing connectivity within the halal ecosystem that is fragmented by numerous standards and regulating bodies.
There is a movement to bring things together and it is happening right now, such as Malaysia’s new initiative, the International Halal Authority Board (IHAB) and the UAE-based International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF).
Last year we witnessed the official launch of IHAB in Kuala Lumpur. This demonstrates the international body’s resolve to bring greater collaboration to halal certification. We have been waiting for something like this for many years.
At the same time, Dubai’s IHAF tackles another need in the halal ecosystem: accreditation. Many countries have had halal certification body recognition systems in place for decades; now the UAE brings international standardization and quality system accreditation into the mix.
We see Southeast Asia bringing their recognition programs towards accreditation and the Middle East and North Africa bringing their halal programs towards better controls to increase reliability and credibility. Both areas coming together will give rise to a harmonized global halal standard.
IFANCA will be a part of this increasing connectivity. It will be involved in both IHAF and IHAB initiatives.
Q: America: To Halal or Not To Halal?
For Muslims in America, the struggle to find halal products is easing, not because they have been demanding halal from the industry but due to import of already certified products as well as some corporations making their entire product category halal. An example of a global brand is Godiva Chocolates, which although certified by IFANCA for the U.S. market, did not initially use the halal label in the United States. Godiva added the halal symbol, the Crescent M, in 2011.
Godiva now has the halal logo on every single product, large and small, that is certified as halal. They may have some new items that have not been certified yet or a few specialty items that are not halal. You can go to their stores and say, ‘I want a halal selection,’ and if they have a product which is not identified as halal, they will not put it in your box. Many other companies like Saffron Road, Abbott Nutrition, Organic Valley, Nestle, and others display the IFANCA halal logo on their labels.
While an array of halal certified products, both made in the USA and imported, is becoming quite evident, most U.S. based companies produce halal only for export. The problem may lie with Muslim consumers not being able to show the food producers that 8-10 million Muslims and 16-20 million halal consumers live in America.
On the non-food front, we see an increase in demand for certification of halal cosmetics and personal care products. IFANCA has experienced an average annual growth rate of seven percent in its halal certification business over the past ten years.
“To encourage growth, we support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing an incubator where the companies can do their basic work, but most of our work is with the major players.”
We want the major players to offer what they offer to everybody else. We can assist the companies to make their existing product lines halal with minor adjustments to the formula, except of course in case of pork and alcoholic drinks.
Q: What does the future of halal certification look like?
Halal certification will continue to grow and witness continued harmonization of halal standards, increased reciprocity among halal certification bodies, and additional multilateral agreements among regulators and accreditation bodies. While efforts continue to develop a global halal standard, we look forward to an all-encompassing discussion to harmonize standards and lighten the accreditation burden by bringing all halal stakeholders into the discussion. That includes the industry, importing countries, regulatory bodies, and the consumers. We are working towards bringing all export oriented halal certification bodies under the umbrella of the World Halal Food Council (WHFC).
The future of halal is bright and we are excited to be a part of it.
The board of Dubai Islamic Bank will meet on November 25 to discuss the acquisition of Noor Bank, it said in an exchange filing on Tuesday (Nov 19).
The United Arab Emirates’ largest standalone Islamic bank in June outlined plans to acquire Shariah-compliant Noor Bank, saying the smaller institution’s operations will be integrated and consolidated with DIB.
DIB said then that assets post-acquisition will reach nearly 275 billion dirhams ($75 billion). Around 80 percent of that base will come from DIB, which most recently reported 229.962 billion dirhams ($62.62 billion) in assets as at end-September.
The bank added that its “new size and scale” when combined with Noor Bank “will allow DIB to expedite its strategy to connect the dots from Far East, sub-continent, and East Africa with Dubai”.
UAE’s oldest Islamic bank currently has operations in Kenya, Pakistan and Indonesia and holds a stake in Bank of Khartoum.
UAE currently has six standalone Islamic banks: DIB, Emirates Islamic, Noor Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, and Ajman Bank. DIB’s acquisition of Noor Bank will cut that number down to five.
The country’s standalone Shariah-compliant banks and Islamic windows of conventional banks have been steadily growing their market share, from 17.3% of total banking assets in 2013 to 18.9% in 2015 to 20.6% in June 2018, according to central bank data.
This dipped to 19.12% in June 2019, equivalent to 565,793 million dirhams out of total banking assets of 2,958,620 million dirhams.
Dubai Islamic Bank was designated by the UAE central bank in 2018 as systematically important. It is the only standalone and full-fledged Islamic bank out of four financial institutions the regulator considers “too big to fail”.
The bank posted 0.08% increase in net profit to 1.262 billion dirhams ($343.6 million) for the three months ending September 30 compared to the same quarter a year ago.
The World Halal Summit is the largest halal event that sheds the light on significant
issues in halal sector by bringing together prominent experts from all over the world. With
the participation of international academicians and fiqh experts, the summit aims to raise awareness about halal by hosting conferences where halal-related topics in finance, tourism, food, medicine, pharmacy, cosmetics, textile, modest fashion and other sectors are discussed at.
Being organized by Discover Events under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey from 28th November to 1st December 2019, the event is annually held in collaboration with Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) and the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) and with the tremendous support of ministries and organizations, especially the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey.
As the summit serves as a reliable platform, it annually hosts high-level bureaucrats,
scientists, businessmen/women, and business groups from over 80 countries. By bringing
experts together, it contributes to form single halal standards that will be recognized
worldwide, aims to improve halal trade by helping develop the multilateral relations
between countries, and create an environment in which new technologies, new markets,
and trends can be seen and problems and difficulties can be discussed.
7 th OIC Halal Expo
Being organized under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey and supported by Turkish ministries and other governmental institutions, particularly Turkish
Ministry of Economy, the World Halal Summit 2019 and 7 th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Halal Expo is going to be organized by Discover Events in cooperation with The Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT), The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) between 28 Nov-1 Dec 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey. 250 different leading companies from different sub-sectors such as finance, tourism,
cosmetics, medicine, chemistry, packing, Islamic textile & modest fashion,
and food & beverages are expected to exhibit at 7 th OIC Halal Expo 2019.
7 th OIC Halal Expo is going to be held at Eurasia Show and Art Center, new exhibition area of Istanbul that has easy access and diverse accommodation
alternatives thanks to its central location.
UK-based halal baby food manufacturer For Aisha has secured a ‘seven-figure’ investment from private equity firm The Foresight Group.
For Aisha was founded in 2015 by Mark Salter, and the company claims it is the only halal baby food in the UK. The company’s product portfolio includes baby food pouches and tray meals, with flavours such as chicken & sweet potato curry, chicken dhal, fish & coconut curry and more.
According to a statement from For Aisha, the company will use the funding to expand its presence in the UK, aid its international expansion efforts, bolster its management team and further invest in marketing activities.
For Aisha has already strengthened its management team with the recent appointments of Martin Clarkson as its director of international sales & brand licensing, and former Plum Baby employee Jonathan Burr as a non-executive director.
Clarkson’s principal responsibility will be to oversee the international expansion of For Aisha to key markets including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and develop the brand’s European opportunities in France, Germany and Holland.
Commenting on the investment, founder Salter said: “For Aisha is aimed at all parents who want to feed their children nutritious meals with real ingredients.
“We have a wide variety of meals on offer – from pouches including Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chicken Dhal with Lentils, to tray meals including Cambodia Fish & Coconut Curry to Green Bean and Lamb Curry with Lentils.
“They’ve been developed to help broaden the taste palates and the repertoire of little ones, to encourage them to eat a wider variety of foods as they grow.
“The For Aisha range is halal and tayyib. Our recipes have been developed by a chef and dietitian and include a delicious blend of spices and herbs so that they taste and smell great.”
India International Halal Expo is an event organised with the sole objective of Halal economy all over the world and a connecting point for the world’s Halal industries. It is a superlative platform to position your brand among the latest and most state-of-the-art Halal products and services that shape the global Halal industry. Through India International Halal Expo, people from various industries like food & beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, engineering, logistics industries and IT services can establish their business in Halal Ecosystem.
Highlights
- Food And Beverages, Halal Ingredients & Pharmacy
- Cosmetics & Lifestyle
- Tourism & Alternative Finance
- Logistics & Supply Chain
- IT Services, Industrial Products & Halal Industrial Parks
Date and place: 18 – 20 Jan 2020 in Hitex Exhibition Center, Hyderabad, India.
The announcement was made by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC). GIES is organised every other year by the DIEDC in collaboration with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber) and Refinitiv, and under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Through highlighting the role of Islamic economy in improving standards of living and promoting sustainable economic development, the summit aims to strengthen Dubai’s status as the global capital of Islamic economy.
As part of the GIES 2020 agenda, the Islamic Economy Award will honour the most innovative initiatives and projects that leverage the Islamic economy concept of ethical business and responsible economic practices to positively impact society.
In addition, the summit will host a series of parallel discussions on a wide range of socio-economic issues. The list of distinguished speakers will feature international businessmen who have taken the halal industry to new heights through global expansion, thereby encouraging a new generation of Islamic economy entrepreneurs.
“Including the fifth edition of GIES alongside Expo 2020 Dubai supports the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish Dubai as the global capital of Islamic economy,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. “GIES 2020 will provide an ideal platform for a meaningful conversation about the Islamic economy and the global opportunities that can be leveraged to ensure its sustainability. Dubai has consolidated its leading position in the field due to the pioneering role it has played to date in the development of a viable Islamic economy framework.”
According to the 10th Global Islamic Finance Report (GIFR) 2019, the estimated figure for the global Islamic financial industry at the end of 2018 was US$2.6 trillion after recording a growth of 6.58%.
“Islamic finance as an industry has been witnessing substantial growth in the past decade, but its growth rate has steadily declined since 2013 from 11.16% to 6.02% in 2017. After five years of declining trend, the industry has once again picked up to register annual growth in assets of 6.58% during 2018,” explained Professor Humayon Dar, Director General of Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance and Founder of GIFR.
With Indonesia taking the leadership position as the most influential country in the global Islamic finance industry, Malaysia is now placed 2nd on the IFCI 2019 rank, followed by Iran at number 3 and Saudi Arabia and Sudan are at number 4 and 5, respectively.
At number 6 is Brunei Darussalam, UAE is at number 7, Bangladesh at 8, Kuwait at 9 and Pakistan at number 10. Last year, Indonesia was ranked at 6th position in IFCI 2018.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the shortage of available financing for halal start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SME) is a “glaring” deficiency in Islamic finance.
She said Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report 2017 revealed that Islamic business financing continues to exhibit strong growth at 12.5 per cent.
“However, most of the Shariah-compliant SMEs are facing difficulties in seeking SME-suitable Islamic financing,” Dr Wan Azizah said in her speech during the Halal Inclusion Roundtable and Masterclass at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
Due to this, the deputy prime minister said most Malaysian SME producers of halal products are unable to fully take advantage of the global demand and supply of the halal market.
“In that respect, more concerted effort and attention should be focused on SMEs, since they are key drivers in creating new jobs and innovation in the halal sector.
“With better financing, I believe more industry players will be encouraged to expand their product lines to include halal-certified products,” she said.
Dr Wan Azizah said better financing will also give existing players a clearer direction for developing strategies in remaining competitive, as well as to meet the various challenges posed by the advent of globalisation, technology and trade liberalisation.
“Local manufacturers may be able to increase the research and development content of their products in order to add higher value.
“One should be reminded that merely relying on the Halal label alone may be insufficient to survive a challenging global market for such products,” she said.
M&S Food is set to launch a range of own label Halal prepared ready meals, which it claims is a first for a major UK retailer and will tap into growing demand for such products.
From next week, a range of six Halal Food Authority (HFA) certified prepared meals will roll-out across 36 selected M&S stores. The retailer stated that its product development team has worked with HFA and suppliers to deliver Halal certified versions of its most popular prepared meals, including Chicken Arrabbiata, Chicken & Mushroom Tagliatelle, Chicken & Leek Bake, Chicken Hotpot, Chicken Jalfrezi, and a Chicken Tikka Masala.
Stuart Machin, Managing Director of M&S Food commented: “Protecting the magic of M&S Food means leading the way as food innovators, with first to market ranges that respond to growing dietary demands and can deliver real commercial impact.
“M&S Food is changing to become more relevant, more often to families across Britain and our new Halal meal range is a great example of how we are broadening appeal so that more customers can enjoy our delicious, quality food.”
In May this year, M&S began stocking a range of Shazans branded Halal chicken products in selected stores. It said that a strong sales response from local customers to these products led to its decision to invest in an own label range. The new M&S Halal prepared meal range has a distinctive orange packaging design and logo and will be stocked alongside the Shazans products.
As well as going on sale in selected UK stores, the new range will also be sold by M&S’ international franchise partner Al-Futtaim in markets including Singapore and Dubai.
SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian food processor BRF SA on Tuesday announced an agreement to invest around $120 million to build its first chicken processing plant in Saudi Arabia in a bid to strengthen its position in a key growth market.
The company, the largest food exporter in the Gulf region, has four production facilities in the Middle East, where increasing populations will lift demand for food.
BRF shares rose marginally on the news, up 0.70% to 35.85 reais in late afternoon trading.
BRF currently serves the Saudi market through eight plants in Brazil and a factory in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier this month BRF said its Abu Dhabi plant was being audited and that Saudi Arabia had restricted buying of some of its products.
Asked whether agreeing on an investment on Saudi soil was a pre-emptive move against protectionism, Chief Financial Officer Carlos Moura downplayed the idea.
“The BRF move is that of a protagonist. It is not purely and simply defensive. We have a long history in the region,” he told Reuters in an interview.
The investment underscores BRF’s goal to remain a leading supplier to countries of the Gulf, he said.
Most of the output from the new plant, estimated at around 50,000 tonnes per year, would be for the Saudi market, but can also be directed to neighboring countries.
BRF, which has operated in the Middle East since the 1970s, said the plant’s product portfolio will include breaded and marinated products and burgers, among others.
The plan is to start operating the new plant by end-2021, Moura said.
According to the USDA, Saudi Arabia’s chicken production in 2019 is forecast at 730,000 tonnes and is projected to increase to 750,000 tonnes next year. Chicken consumption this year is estimated at 1.33 million tonnes and is forecast to reach 1.38 million tonnes in 2020.
BRF said the precise location, investment schedule and capital structure of its Saudi Arabia factory would be determined later.
Moura declined to discuss financing for the project in detail, but said there is “no obligation” to take out loans in the region. The plant will generate 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and will be 100% owned by BRF, he said.
The halal market, which requires an animal be slaughtered in accordance with Muslim rules for its meat to be allowed for consumption, represented about 27% of BRF global food volumes, generating net sales of 2.4 billion reais ($602 million) in the second quarter.
