Requirements for the Development of Halal Food Quality Management System in Malaysia

To the Muslims, food must not only be of good quality but must be truly halal, hence the study of halal food quality system was initiated. All foods are halal except those that are specifically mentioned in the Quran as haram. The increasing demand for global halal food estimated at USD 150 billion is in tandem with the increasing Muslim population of approximately 2 billion people. To tap this lucrative market, Malaysia should develop a comprehensive Halal Food System to assure the quality and authenticity of its halal food. The Halal Food System encompassing the laws, the enforcement team and the support of analytical facilities should be well coordinated to gain continuous confidence from Muslims worldwide. The study on 10 halal food authorities worldwide including Malaysia indicated a global trend of increasing awareness and demand of halal food, whereby 60% respondents had gazetted their halal food acts, 100% had halal food enforcement bodies and 90% had established their halal food certification systems. As such, Malaysia should develop a comprehensive halal food law to lay the foundation of an effective halal food system. The certification of halal food had been instrumental in ensuring the control of authentic halal food by the Islamic authority, apart from benefiting the food industries in promoting their sales and assuring the Muslim consumers during halal food purchase. The integration of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Halal elements in a quality assurance programme is on-going in Malaysia, which would benefit the food industries in increasing their food exports. Similar efforts are noted in Indonesia and Thailand. The survey on 500 consumers in Selangor showed that 81% respondents purchase both fresh and processed meat when they go shopping and they spent an average of RM 84 on fresh meat and RM 62 on processed meat products every month. 86%, 74% and 62% of respondents always purchase chicken nugget, chicken hamburger and chicken satay, respectively. 55% of respondents regarded packaging as very important in product appearance, followed with colour and shape. On the information of food labels, the consumers always look at the expiry date first followed with halal label, then with ingredients and additives. 70% consumers agreed that halal labeled products were not the same with those without. The study on consumer perception of halal food hub reflected that 70% Malaysian consumers were aware of the halal food hub and 55% were confident that Malaysia could become the world halal food hub. 61% consumers agreed that halal food is quality food and 84% agreed that Malaysian Halal logo served its purpose in assuring the authenticity of halal food

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