The three-day conference started off with the opening address of Drs. Amidhan Shaberah, Chairman, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), who stressed on the harmonization of halal standards. Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, president, IFANCA, welcomed the attendees, and spoke on the idea behind holding such conferences. He said the conference serves as an ideal meeting ground for various stakeholders in the halal industry.
American Halal Company president Adnan Durrani spoke on the immense entrepreneurship opportunities in the US Halal Industry. He said that there are many unmet needs of Muslim consumers which need to be addressed by the industry. He went on to discuss the opportunities that are available in the US Halal market by stating that American Muslims spend over $15 Billion on food each year and yet only about 1,000 retail products are available in the domestic market. Mr. Durrani also showcased the success of the Saffron Road brand products which are being sold throughout the US via mainstream retail outlets.
The second session was led by Dr. Mian Nadeem Riaz, Director of Food Protein R&D Center, Texas A&M University. He presented a brief history of halal certification, and mentioned that in the past 50 years the Muslim population has more than doubled and as a consequence the demand for Halal food has also increased. “The estimated current trade of Halal food is more than $2 trillion making it one of the fastest growing consumer segments in the world”. He went on to discuss Muslim growth internationally as well as new trends in Halal marketing.
A presentation on the latest developments in the global halal market was given by Mr. Abdalhamid David Evans, Founder and Senior Analyst, Imarat Consultants, United Kingdom. He discussed key ongoing trends and the efforts that are leading up to create greater diversity and more sophisticated marketing methods. The session came to conclusion with a presentation on globalization of halal standards presented by Dr. Hani M. Al Mazeedi, Associate Research Scientist Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, Kuwait.
Tan Sri Syed Jalaluddin Syed Salim,
Chairman HDC Malaysia addressingThe third session focusing on country requirements and halal assurance systems was led by Mr. Mark Overland, Director, Global Certification, Cargill, Inc. He said that global companies use a management system approach for managing risk and ensure compliance in food safety, quality, environmental health and safety.
A Halal Assurance System is a natural fit into these effective management systems.
Mr.Abdur Rahman Lum from Singapore, Dr. Faqir Anjum from Pakistan and Mr. Azmi Abdul Aziz from Malaysia also spoke in this session. They talked about the halal programs in their respective countries.
Dr. Munir Chaudry addressing Banquet attendees
The well-attended banquet session was addressed by several dignitaries including Ms. Toni Preckwinkle (the president of Cook County Board of Commissioners), Mr. Timothy Schneider (county commissioner), and Mr. Matt Abbott from Senator Mark Kirk’s office honored the occasion with their presence. Ms. Preckwinkle commended IFANCA for its mission on promoting nutrition and halal certification. Mr. Bill Kurtis,
an entrepreneur and former anchor man of CBS television station, in his key note speech pointed out his own positive experience in one of the Muslim countries. He stressed the need for creating healthy and wholesome foods and urged the industry to take its responsibilities seriously. He said that the Muslims were smart from the start to analyse everything that goes into their food and thereby accruing nutritional and health foods. He said that food has the ability to serve as a bridge between people and halal food admirably does that.
The banquet session also featured an awards ceremony where the following recipients were recognized:
Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Ahmad Sakr, Dr. Mohammed Sadek and Mr. Allen Hamoud
Employee of the Year: Dr. Farhat Quadri
Company of the Year: Cargill Inc.
Diamond sponsors: Abbott Nutrition; The Coca Cola Company
Platinum Sponsor : Access Business Group, LLC (Nutrilite Division)
Gold Sponsors: Pepsi Cola Company; Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
Silver Sponsors: American Halal Co/Saffron Road; Cargill Incorporated;
Cropp Cooperative/Organic Valley; Golden State Foods; MATRADE, Nitta Gelatin India;
Schreiber Foods
Mr. Mark Overland, Director of Global Certification
at Cargill Inc. receiving Company of the Year plaque for Cargill.
Dr. Al Khatrawi, Chairman Madina Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Chaudry, president of IFANCA
Signing of Memorandum of Understanding between IFANCA and Saudi Chamber of Commerce
Another important event of the evening was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Saudi Chamber of Commerce (SCOC) and IFANCA by Dr. Al Khatrawi, a SCOC board member, and Dr. Chaudry, president of IFANCA.
The first session on Sunday was on Food Safety and Security, that was addressed by Mr. Richard Friedman (president of National Strategy Forum), Mr. Ryan Long (a Global Intelligence analyst from McDonald's Corporation), and Mr. Jody Weiss (co-founder of Periculum Consulting).
The session on animal welfare was moderated by Dr. Joe Regenstein (Professor of Food Science at Cornell University), who talked about the methods of slaughtering according to Islamic and Jewish guidelines. Ms. Erika Voogd (president of Voogd Consulting) and Ms. Janet Riley (American Meat Institute) discussed detailed procedures of religious slaughter and compliance with animal welfare requirements.
A session on Integrated Halal Assurance System highlighted the importance of halal assurance programs in the industry. Tan Sri Dato’ Syed Jalaluddin Syed Salim (Chairman of Halal Development Corporation(HDC) Malaysia), and Dato’ Seri Jamil Bidin, (CEO of HDC), presented the Halal assurance program developed and implemented in Malaysia. Mr. Mark Overland, Director of Global Certification at Cargill, Ms. Liliana Totoiu, Research Scientist at Nutrilite Division, Dr. Stephen Heck of DSM Nutritional Products, Switzerland, and Dr. Koen dePraetere of Halal Balancing in Belgium gave an enlightening overview of the Halal assurance programs in their respective institutions.
The last session on Sunday covered the importance and need of Halal verification and certification. Mr. Ahmed El Hattab, Executive Director of ISNA Development Foundation presented spoke on the need for developing a US Halal Standards and Accreditation Body. Dr. Javed Rashid, VP Technical Services at Golding Farms Foods presented an overview of verification in Halal Certification.
Dr. Koen de Praetere of Halal Balancing - Belgium, Dr. Abdulla S. Ruwaida of Food Safety Management Consultancy, Dubai UAE; and Mr. Azmi Abdul Aziz of Malaysia National University, discussed the following topics respectively: "Halal Integrity – From Control to Assurance", "Halal Regulations and Certification in the UAE and GCC Countries", and "The Perception to Choose Halal Cosmetic Products".
The final day of the conference started with a session on trade and export considerations and requirements by Dr. Mitchell Bowling of US Dairy Export Council who discussed "Halal Certification guidelines for Exported Dairy Products.” He was followed by Dr. Travis Arp of US Meat Export Federation who talked on the topic of "US Export of Halal Red Meat Products", and Mr. Muhammad Zakaria of MATRADE, Malaysia who spoke on "Facilitating Halal Trade – Malaysia Experience".
The last technical session covered Halal Certification of Animal Ingredients, in that session four speakers, Mr. Riyaz Khan of Nitta Gelatin - India; Dr. Sabir Ali and Mr. Haider Khattak directors of IFANCA Canada; and Dr. Mujahid Masood, Senior Auditor - IFANCA discussed: "Gelatin", "Certification and Sourcing of Animal Ingredients", "Haram Ingredients", and "Flavors" respectively.
Finally, Ms. Mary Anne Jackson, president of My Own Meals/J & M Food Products, gave an inspiring speech on "The Way Forward" for halal certification and its importance.
The conference ended with closing remarks by IFANCA president Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, thanking the attendees, sponsors, speakers, and the IFANCA staff for making the 15th International conference a grand success.
