Halal Advocates, a USA based loosely knit Islamic group, has been busy visiting companies from USA to Australia, threatening to expose them. Almost a dozen members of the group visited IFANCA offices last year to learn how IFANCA carries out halal certification. They agreed to work with IFANCA to promote halal, and increase an understanding of halal amongst consumers. We respect the scholars for their scholarly advice but something is amiss about certain members of this group. Halal Advocates have been making presentations, publishing articles and blogs on internet, disregarding their talk of honesty and cooperation for a common cause. Halal Advocates' talk about honesty and transparency has morphed into a desire to enter halal certification. Some of their members visited several companies that are currently certified by IFANCA. These visits were done wearing a cloak of consumer representatives, and mostly done without the knowledge of IFANCA. They told each company that the company was not doing halal properly and made suggestions to change the process of slaughter. They also proceeded to offer to certify the products for these companies, an offer our clients would not accept. Such behavior by young religious scholars can only hurt the cause of halal, which we have spent thirty years nurturing.

IFANCA wants to assure Muslim consumers that all products certified as halal by IFANCA meet established halal guidelines. Halal consumers should look for the CRESCEMT-M halal logo on packages and feed their families with halal-certified products that are halal-assured, free of doubt. Further, IFANCA assures companies that they will receive full support in case of any legal action taken by them for slander and mischaracterization. For further information contact Dr. Farhat Quadri at +001.877.425.2523 or f.quadri@ifanca.org. 

It is our privilege to honor ABBOTT NUTRITION as the Company of the Year by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) at the 13^th Annual International Halal Food Conference. The following were criteria the company met:-Abbott Nutrition is a major corporation with a global halal program. Many of the Abbott Nutrition products have been certified for almost a decade.

Abbott has an excellent program of label control for the halal logo. During the past five years Abbott halal conformance and execution has been outstanding. Abbott has been very proactive in dealing with issues arising from South East Asian markets, specifically Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

For a list of Conference Speakers, Panels and Registration information please visit www.ifanca.org/conference/. 

IFANCA Staff shares the grief of the Japanese people due to the recent earth quake and tsunami and ongoing problems with the nuclear reactors. We are pleased to report that everyone at the IFANCA certified companies in Japan is safe, although some of them had to endure hardships during the first few days after the disaster. We encourage all the clients of our halal-certified companies in Japan to donate generously to this cause. We are sending the money directly to the affected areas.

The IFANCA Relief Fund is an ongoing effort to support victims of natural disasters worldwide, including fundraising for the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Donations continue to be accepted via PayPal at www.sabeelpantry.org. Just click on "Donate" and mention "Japan" to earmark your donations. 

There have been emails and articles floating around on the internet claiming to have discovered Coke's secret ingredient. This type of conjecture is common especially about large corporations and Coca-Cola is not immune to it. IFANCA feels that the Muslim community is wasting its energy and time on something as baseless as these statements. IFANCA wants to set the record straight since it has been working with the company for several years, approving the flavors for Muslim markets.

Coca Cola has issued the following statement:

• The ingredients used in our beverages are listed on the product labels, and many third parties -- including 'This American Life' -- have tried over time to crack the secret formula of Coca-Cola. Try as they might to crack that formula, there truly is only one "real thing".
• Coca-Cola is a non-alcoholic beverage. In the manufacture of Coca-Cola, alcohol is not added as an ingredient and no fermentation takes place.
• The ingredients and manufacturing process used in the production of Coca-Cola are rigorously regulated by government and health authorities in more than 200 countries which have consistently recognized the beverage Coca-Cola as a non-alcoholic product.
• Coca-Cola is safe and meets the safety requirements, laws and practices in every country where our brands are sold.

Exandal Corp. produces, markets and exports texturizing ingredients for the food industry. It also develops blends and special formulas in accordance with the applications requested by clients. IFANCA certifies Exandal Products' Tara Gum as halal for use as a texturizing agent in products such as baked goods, personal care products and other ingredients. The company has strategically established partnership through joint ventures with the largest companies with ingredient production plants for the Food Industry worldwide. Its products fulfill with the quality and purity specifications established by FAO/WHO, FDA, the European Union (EEC Directives), Food Chemical Codex (FCC) amongst others.

Starting back in 1946 as a small chicken slaughterhouse, Volys Star is one of the poultry industry's pioneers in Europe. In the 1970's, Volys Star converted from a chicken slaughterhouse into a poultry meat processor and started growing and slaughtering turkeys instead of chickens – turkeys carried more meat than the 'skinny' chickens at that time. A natural segueway for this poultry-only company, Volys Star kept with trends and decided to meet the needs of the European Muslim Consumer market. According to them, "We did slaughter animals at low speed in order to maximize meat quality, so we could change the slaughtering method from mechanical slaughter to manual slaughter. And we did have many Muslims working in our plant, so no problem to establish a team of qualified and certified Muslim slaughtermen to perform ritual slaughtering."

In addition, their turkeys are all green-fed. They do not use growth promoters, antibiotics, animal proteins or animal fat. All turkeys are raised and slaughtered with respect for Animal Welfare. It is one of the few European producers with Salmonella-free flocks. It is no surprise that Volys Star has become a market leader for the Halal Premium Quality product segment. Volys Star products are certified as halal by the Halal Food Council of Europe, an IFANCA affiliate.

Currently available in the Middle East and Europe, their products can be found in various supermarkets such as Carrefour, Bou Khalil, Spinneys, Géant, Hyper-Panda etc. Customers include Emirates Flight Catering, Emarat Petrol Station, Bakeria, Qatar Airways, Domino’s and Quick France.

Cargill is a global leader in the manufacture of several food ingredient groupings. It seeks halal certification to comply with requests from its clients and other countries. It is not so much about expanding market share, though that is a welcome result, but also about meeting the needs of existing client base. "With over 80 plants and several hundred products, certified by IFANCA, Cargill's decisions to get their products certified as halal, does come down to our commitment to customer service," says Mark Overland, Global Manager for Regulatory Affairs.

How does IFANCA meet the requirements of a global client such as Cargill where products are as varied as beef and cocoa powders? To ensure that Cargill implements IFANCA guidelines based on risk levels pertaining to halal, products at higher risk levels or doubt as to their halal worthiness receive more frequent inspections.

The secret to delivering a superior taste experience to consumers is in optimizing the balance between texture, sweetness and flavor. Cargill utilizes its expertise in texturizers, sweeteners and flavors to balance taste and mouthfeel with unmatched precision. "Cargill's philosophy is that you must examine sweetness, texture and flavor in relation to one another," says Majella de Bruijn, EMEA Beverage Category Manager, Cargill. In a company where product and process innovation are integral parts of the business strategy, IFANCA keeps up by staying in constant communication with Cargill's Halal coordinator. Any proposed changes are discussed with IFANCA prior to implementation, and once approved for halal; these changes are implemented throughout the Cargill system, irrespective of where the plant is located. In fact, discussing process changes prior to implementation is a cost saving measure. As Dr. Chaudry points out, "Cost is very minimal if the halal requirements are considered right at the beginning, rather than after the processes have been designed.