Islamic Values Emphasize Social Responsibility – IFANCA

From the vantage point of an organization with more than three thousand halal-certified sites of global and local companies, we believe 2011 will be another successful year for halal trade and marketing. Halal has been in the news almost every week of 2010 and is making a major impact on the global trade scene. As more companies enter the halal arena and competition begins to heats up, halal certification by well-recognized, independent and experienced organizations, will give the companies an advantage in the market place. Global halal consumers, numbering almost two billion, are becoming savvier about the foods they consume and the products they use. During the last decade, Malaysia and Indonesia took the lead in establishing halal requirements which are expected to be tightened further this year. We will also see others like Pakistan, Turkey and the GCC countries become more visible in international halal trade, primarily for consumer items. China, India, the USA, Canada, Brazil and the European countries will maintain or increase their market share of halal-certified food ingredients. While halal-certified meat and food products will continue to grow in numbers and volume; the demand will grow for the certification of new products like cosmetics, personal care items, pharmaceuticals as well as sanitation and food processing chemicals. IFANCA and its affiliates in Canada, Europe, Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are well positioned to meet the increased demand.

As many of you may know, the word halal used to be associated with meat and poultry only, especially in the Middle East. Today, halal is frequently mentioned with cosmetics and other life style products and even with tourism. Some estimates place the value of this segment of trade to be even higher than that of food products which is estimated to be over US$580 billion globally. While Malaysia and Indonesia are still big players in halal-certified cosmetics, United Arab Emirates, especially Dubai has taken the lead in the Middle East.

The work of IFANCA in serving the consumers and the industry will continue with halal certification of meat and poultry products, food and consumer products, nutritional foods and supplements, neutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, vaccines, food additives and ingredients, feed and feed additives and ancillary products. On the community services side, IFANCA is establishing a community center that would include a library, a museum, a school of consumer sciences and a senior resource center.

We know that like us, you too are looking forward to the year ahead with great anticipation.

Dr. Muhammad M. Chaudry 
President, IFANCA 

IFANCA and Halal-Certified Companies Reach out to the American Muslim Mark

IFANCA and its clients, Creamery Cooperative and Saffron Road Foods, participated in the Seventh Annual Muslim Journal Awards convention, held December 17-19, 2010, in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, they reached out to the African Muslim segment of the halal consumer market. IFANCA exhibited its halal education services at the Convention. Maria Omar, Director of Media Relations at IFANCA presented at the Business Panel. She spoke about the halal sector and its many opportunities for small businesses. IFANCA's onsite Food Technologist, Mujahed Khan, answered technical queries. Creamery Cooperative and Saffron Road presented the honorees and award winners with gift certificates, product vouchers and more. Zija Products, also IFANCA certified show-cased its products at the Conference.

China is one of the world's most eye-catching halal food markets, as well as a manufacturer of food ingredients for the world. With a Muslim population of more than 30 million, mostly residing in strategic business areas, China is establishing meat production companies for export to the Middle East and South East Asian countries. We anticipate that halal-certified meat based ingredients like gelatin, beef fat and meat powders will follow. In the past five years IFANCA has seen a tremendous growth in halal certification in China, by many foreign organizations. Even for IFANCA, China has been the second most active area for halal certification. Locally, demand for halal-certified food is rapidly growing in the provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.