Halal Certification is required to produce acceptable food and consumable products for halal consumers. That includes the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and the many millions of others who also choose to eat halal products because of the obvious positive health benefits associated with the cleanliness and purity of food and drug preparation within the halal framework as well as the compassion with which animals are slaughtered when done so in accordance with halal standards.

Halal Certification is the process of having a qualified independent third party supervise the production of consumables, attesting that they were produced in conformity with the preparation and ingredient standards of the halal lifestyle. After successful adoption and performance of halal productivity procedures, the supervisory third party then issues Halal Certification to the producer attesting to halal conformity on a per product basis. While halal requires foods to be wholesome and pure, Halal Certification has left the issue of food safety to the government regulatory bodies.

HACCP is an important quality management system for the food industry and fits in well with the concept of halal. Implementing HACCP demonstrates the producer’s desire to produce safe products. When implementing a Halal Certification program, the certifying agency will incorporate specific halal procedures within the greater HACCP procedures. HACCP alone does not make a product halal, and a halal product can be made without HACCP.

ISO 9000 is another quality management system that fits in well with the concept of halal. Implementing ISO 9000 demonstrates the producer’s desire to produce consistent quality products. When implementing a Halal Certification program, the certifying agency will incorporate specific halal procedures within the ISO procedures. ISO alone does not make a product halal, and a halal product can be made without ISO.

Halal-certified ingredients can be found in many places. When producing halal-certified products, it is best to use halal-certified ingredients. Your halal-certifying agency can help you find a source of acceptable halal-certified ingredients.

The market for halal-certified products is huge and growing. It includes the 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and many millions of health-conscious non-Muslims who chose to eat halal-certified products because these products are inherently cleanly and manufactured in a compassionate manner with respect to the treatment of slaughtered animals. (When animals are slaughtered in a less compassionate manner, hormones and toxins from fear and shock are released into the respective bloodstreams of the animals; these hormones and toxins find their way into the musculature and taint the aft-consumed meat with unnecessary ingredients.)

While many things are clearly Halal or Haram, there are some things which are not clear. Further information is needed to categorise them as Halal or Haram. Such items are often referred to as mashbooh, which means doubtful or questionable. Mushbooh is an Arabic term meaning doubtful. If one does not know the Halal or Haram status of a particular food or drink, such a food or drink is doubtful. A practicing Muslim avoids consuming doubtful things.