Al Islami Foods and the International Halal Integrity (IHI) Alliance held a 'halal standards development' convention on the sidelines of Gulfood exhibition 2009.

Hosted by Al Islami Foods and the Al Jawhara Group of Hotels for the Food Processing and Food Service modules respectively, the meeting drew over 30 participants from 16 countries.

Representatives from the national Standardisation authorities in the region were also present including the Saudi Arabian Standardisation Organisation (Saso) and the Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology (Esma).

Numerous Halal certification bodies and major industry players such as MacDonald’s and Campbell’s provided valuable input to the modules which will be incorporated into the Global Halal Standard.

“Being a Halal hotel is more than just serving halal food and prohibiting alcohol” adds Mr. Hani. “all our financing is Shariah-compliant and we incorporate the principles of Shariah across our operations including how we manage our staff,” stated Hani Lashin, general manager at the Al Jawhara Group of Hotels & Apartments.

“We at Al Islami undertake the responsibility to ensure that the entire supply chain is in fact ‘real halal’, right down to what is being fed to the livestock,” added Joachim Yebouet, chief technical officer at Al Islami Foods.

The conclusion of both sessions resulted in considerable progress on establishing the parameters and guidelines that will form the Halal Food Service and Halal Food Processing modules.

“The Halal concept goes far beyond merely slaughter. The Global Halal Standard takes a more holistic approach of addressing the relevant sectors of the whole supply chain from animal welfare to logistics and downstream products,” commented Darhim Hashim, chief of IHI Alliance.-TradeArabia News Service