Do not blindly trust any product labeled Halal.

Halal certification in Kazakhstan has been around for quite some time and the country now has 18 national standards in place in this growing industry.

The global Halal food market is currently estimated at $1.5–2.2 billion, with the potential to grow to $4.1 billion by 2028, said Almat Oryngaliuly, an auditor at the National Certification Center of the Kazakhstan Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology. Consumer spending on Halal products accounts for 17% of total consumer spending worldwide. By 2025, experts estimate, this share will reach 20%, and by 2030, it is entirely possible to increase to a quarter of total global spending.

Given the large market and turnover in this sector, auditing expert Almat Oryngaliuly advises against blindly trusting any product labeled Halal. The principles of Halal are not only the absence of pork, but also a series of measures, such as a complete ban on alcohol in all forms, minimizing animal suffering before slaughter, prohibiting the slaughter of animals that have passed one-third of their pregnancy, and refusing to eat meat.

By properly establishing a recognized Halal certification system in Kazakhstan, the National Certification Center of the Kazakhstan Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology can enhance the responsibility of manufacturers, regain the trust of domestic consumers and increase the volume of Halal products exported to foreign markets.

The State Accreditation Center under the Ministry of Trade and Integration recommends that manufacturers only work with accredited organizations that are authorized to issue Halal certification. (Source: Astana Times)

Halal certification in Kazakhstan appeared quite a long time ago, when people did not fully understand the process, its importance and goals. At that time, market participants associated Halal certification only with religion. Organizations began to arbitrarily designate themselves as the authority that was supposed to carry out Halal certification and issue quality certification. Widespread labeling of a large volume of products began with various Halal signs, which buyers simply trusted... This was due to the lack of deep understanding by both producers and consumers about the purpose of certification, the meaning of labeling and whether the certification body was accredited or not.

In practice, certification from an unrecognized organization is associated with low product quality. This creates distrust in the certification process as a whole. Products certified by unrecognized organizations are increasingly perceived by consumers as unreliable, which can lead to a decrease in demand for that product, as well as the formation of a negative image of the manufacturing company.

And most importantly, it will lead to the appearance on the market of poor quality, even dangerous products. There are also legal risks. Therefore, in some countries, the sale of goods without recognized certificates is unacceptable and is considered a violation of the law. Here there may be heavy fines or removal of the product from the market.

Many distributors and retail chains place great importance on obtaining accredited certification. In the case of exports, certification from non-accredited organizations can damage the reputation of the exporting country as well as that of international trade participants. For example, the discovery of pork DNA, prohibited food additives, traces of blood or carrion in Halal sausage products produced in Kazakhstan can negatively affect the reputation of all sausage products from Kazakhstan.

Non-accredited certification also complicates the process of resolving issues related to returned and rejected food claims. But choosing accredited organizations for Halal certification will minimize these risks.

Therefore, the State Certification Center under the Ministry of Trade and Integration recommends that manufacturers work only with accredited organizations that are authorized to issue Halal certification. Currently, in Kazakhstan there is only one officially recognized Halal certification organization.

The precise requirements and criteria for Halal products are established through the development and application of necessary standards; establishing requirements for accreditation processes, testing and certification processes, including certification of product and service manufacturing processes, quality management and competence of personnel, facilities, storage and distribution of Halal products.

Certification bodies will pass on the high standards they adhere to to Halal product manufacturers. And through certification, they provide customers with products that are positioned as environmentally friendly, produced not only in compliance with Islamic standards but also in accordance with the requirements of technology, i.e. of excellent quality.

Halal certification gives manufacturers an edge and the opportunity to stay ahead of the competition in the rapidly growing global Halal industry market.

Currently, Kazakhstan has adopted 18 national standards in the field of Halal, which were developed on the basis of foreign standards. In practice, manufacturers often produce certain products and declare that they do not contain unacceptable ingredients such as pork, blood or genetically modified additives, as this is stated in the certificate of origin of meat raw materials.

Nowadays, it is common knowledge that gelatin is added to food products. It is believed that almost all of it contains pig DNA. However, in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries that live under Sharia law, gelatin is also used, but this type of gelatin is Halal.

To eliminate people's doubts about the purity of this additive, the Standards and Metrology Institute of Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in 2021 developed the standard OIC⁄SMIIC 22:2021 “Edible gelatin in Halal foods - requirements and test methods”, using which it is possible to determine which gelatin is Halal and which is not.

The State Accreditation Center under the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan is currently strengthening the training of qualified specialists in the Halal industry through seminars on Halal standards with the participation of the Asian Development Bank, experts from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, etc.

The center directly witnessed slaughterhouses that did not comply with the basic principles and requirements of Halal food such as ensuring the cleanliness of the slaughterhouse from traces of blood from previously sacrificed sheep; ensuring that the animal did not see other animals being slaughtered; not ensuring halal slaughtering procedures (killing the animal with an unsuitable knife, breaking the cervical vertebrae and cutting the spinal cord, not waiting for the animal to bleed completely and die completely; not ensuring adequate ventilation in the slaughterhouse…).

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chuyen-gia-kazakhstan-ly-giai-khong-nen-tin-tuong-mot-cach-mu-quang-vao-bat-ky-san-pham-nao-co-nhan-halal-287070.html