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BSTI moves to adopt int'l halal certifications for food products

January 27, 2021 00:00:00


Ismail Hossain

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the country's key standards body, has taken an initiative to adopt international halal certifications for food products targeting the domestic and global halal market.

Bangladesh has obtained membership of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) early this month. It is the first step to enter the halal food products market formally.

SMIIC develops necessary mechanisms for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries aiming to set new standards in the member states and eliminate technical barriers for boosting trade among them.

BSTI director (certification marks) Sajjadul Bari said they have taken an initiative to begin halal certification soon.

The Islamic Foundation used to issue halal certificates before, now BSTI is ready to issue certificates once SMIIC standards are adopted by BSTI, he added.

BSTI expects to issue halal certificates from June this year.

According to officials concerned, BSTI formed a "halal food products wing committee" to adopt halal standards and necessary actions.

BSTI is now planning to approve three international halal standards to "identically adopt" as national standards.

The three standards are: OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 General Requirements for Halal Food, OIC/SMIIC 2:2019 Conformity Assessment- Requirements for Bodies Providing Halal Certification and OIC/SMIIC 24:2020 General Requirements for Food Additives and other Added Chemicals to Halal Food.

Assistant director (agriculture and food) of BSTI Md. Enamul Haque said they will follow the SMIIC halal certification system.

SMIIC officials will visit BSTI and train their staff in the standard and certification process, he added.

Mr Haque also said the halal standard and certification processes are almost identical to usual standard policies but the halal standard process will include religious expert in the team.

SMIIC aims to establish conformity assessment schemes for the purpose of expediting exchange of materials, manufactured goods and products among member states beginning with mutual recognition of certificates.

The government is planning to establish an authority for issuing health certificates for export of halal food items to meet the demand of importers of such Bangladeshi products, sources said.

To this effect, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) is preparing a standard operating procedure (SOP) including organisational structure, nature and circumference in this regard, according to a commerce ministry official.

Halal food refers to food items and beverages that are strictly prepared according to the rules underlined by the Islamic dietary law.

According to this law, alcohol, blood, pork, by-products of pork and blood, animals that are dead before slaughtering, and those not killed in the name of Allah are considered 'haram' or impermissible for consumption.

Moreover, halal food products are packaged and stored in utensils, which have been cleaned as per the prescribed guidelines.

Muslims across the world need to have assurance that they are consuming products and getting services with halal certification.

In 2019, Muslims globally spent more than $2.0 trillion on halal products, according to industry report.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, spending by Muslims is expected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2024 at a 5-year cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.10 per cent.

As the Muslim population is expected to grow twice as fast as the world population and reach 3 billion, about 31.10 per cent of the global population, by 2060, the halal market is expected to grow.

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