Halal food is defined as food produced to be consumed by Muslims (believers of Islam). The importance of Halal food in the global market is significant as it accounts for more than 17% of the total world food production and is its current value of US$1.292 trillion a year expected to increase in the future. The commercial prosperity of Halal food is driven by strong demands from consumers in the Halal food market, which is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, and its links with the concept of cleaner, healthier and tastier food.

The increasing demands for Halal food have had a snowball effect on the production of Halal food. Current Halal food production focal point is to ensure food integrity through certification organisations that monitor and verify producers’ compliance with manufacturing standards and guidelines such as MS1500:2008, GSO993:1998, and ONR14200:2009. Such certifications cover a wide range of aspects, from seeds used in growing crops for human consumption or as animal feeds, to animal raising, transportation, slaughtering, processing and handling, and other processes that are required in the production of Halal food. These guidelines and certifications are commonly being enforced together with other standards like Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Relevant standards and guidelines have made a tremendous impact on the Halal food industry in the form of confidence gained from the Halal food consumers, especially in avoiding foods that do not meet their dietary requirements. However, present consumers are now demanding more stringent procedures in the production of the food they consume. Hence, the credence attributes, such as sustainability, ethical issues (e.g., animal rights), and environmental- friendly approach along the food supply chain of the food consumed, are also important, together with aspects related to safety, health, price and convenience. Yet, Halal food production is seen from a religious perspective by the consumers especially for those who are not following the Halal dietary. As a matter of fact, Halal food is not only highly dependent on the integrity of how it is produced, that is, whether the procedures have met all necessary requirements of the Islamic dietary law, but it must also go along with other Islamic values such as aspects related the environment, equality and fair trade. Therefore, Halal food production is indeed expected to run parallel with the concept of sustainable development which encompasses the production of food that prevents harmful elements to the consumers, the environment and the economy, at each stage in its production. This view represents a more holistic and complete approach to sustainability; any damages to the environment, society and the economy that result from food production would be considered as detrimental to universal integrity and the Divine rules of the Creator of the universe.

It can be said that Halal food production has reached maturity in integrity assurance. This has been evident by the increasing number of Halal certifications worldwide. The attention now is drawn to the Halal food manufacturers to focus on their capabilities in utilizing resources in their supply chain to meet the current sustainable consumption demand without neglecting future generations’ ability to meet their own. Nevertheless, there are challenges−production management is still based on traditional methods that suffer from a lack of crucial information in achieving safe, high quality and efficient food production and the requirements of sustainability, and technologies such as radiofrequency identification (RFID), traceability and transparency of food production in support of  sustainability efforts which are expensive to be implemented (by Halal food production firms) and may not give an immediate and perceivable impact. Furthermore, the imbalance between demand and supply of Halal food has pressured Halal food manufacturers to produce more with less waste.

Due to food’s short shelf-life and perishability, food technology is set to combat this issue and to reduce

waste. However, the food industry has learnt that overuse of technology has been a double-edged sword for organic food; it may backfire the principle of sustainable food outlets. For example, the introduction of additives into food is considered as non-sustainable as it is neither organic nor healthy for consumption.

In essence, a sustainable Halal food system is currently still difficult to achieve in the industrialized food production approach that balances all three elements, namely, food security, health and environment, the fundamental dietary requirements of the Islamic law. Nonetheless, the embeddedness of some sustainable elements in the standards applied by the food production firms has triggered an interest in the feasibility of sustainability in the Halal food industry. This has provided a light at the end of the tunnel and given a cause for optimism in the discussion on Halal food manufacturing. Moreover, too much reliance and investment on one aspect (i.e., Halal quality or Halal integrity) may increase the unit efficiency of production, which compensates for other efforts such as sustainability. Introducing additional and specific sustainability standards to the current industry practices will burden the food production firms and is not likely to be adopted, especially if it is voluntary. For example, with regard to the voluntary Malaysian Farms Good Agricultural Practice Scheme (SALM) launched on January 31, 2002, it was observed that the majority of farm holders were reluctant to comply with the SALM guidelines. Therefore, the time now has come for thorough and comprehensive studies of sustainability principles that can be harmonized with Halal food

production in view of the Halal food occupying a better market positioning. l Food Production– What is Next After Assurance?

HalaDr. Mohd Helmi Ali

Lecturer, Operations Management

National University of Malaysia