BSTI starts issuing halal certificates

Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) started issuing halal certificates for products from Monday.
As part of the move, the BSTI issued halal certificates for nine products of three organisations under Olympic Industries on the first day.
The Arabic word 'halal' means lawful or permitted, and generally refers to what is allowed in Islamic practices.
While handing over halal certificates, the Director General (DG) of BSTI Dr Md Nazrul Anwar said that Bangladesh had adopted three international standards such as : BDS OIC/SMIIC 1: 2021, BDS OIC/SMIIC 2: 2021 and BDS OIC/SMIIC 24: 2021 for issuing halal certificates after following due process.
He informed that as a member of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), an OIC body, and to expand exports, BSTI has adopted three international halal standards and it has initiated the move for issuing halal certificates according to the bar set by those standards.
He handed over halal certificates to Executive Director of Olympic Industries Ltd (Unit-1) Madad Ali Birani, Director of Olympic Industries Ltd (Unit-2) Tanvir Ali and Senior General Manager of Olympic Industries Ltd (Unit-3) Nazrul Islam.
He said that from now on the business owners of the country would be able to get standard and halal certificates for products at a time from a single point of BSTI.
Experts and representatives from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Department of Agricultural Extension, Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP), Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI), Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka (DU), Department of Pharmacy of DU, Department of Islamic Studies of DU, Government Madrasah- E- Alia and Qawmi madrasahs are involved with the process of issuing halal certificates by BSTI.
The chocolate, wafer biscuits, plain cake, toppy, instant noodles, chip crackers are among the products of Olympic Industries of different units which got halal certificates from BSTI.
The global halal food market reached a value of US$ 1,978 billion in 2021.
The market is expected to reach US$ 3,907.7 billion by 2027, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.24 per cent during 2022-2027, according to sector insiders.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com