PHILIPPINES- GOING HALAL.
The Lanao del Sur Provincial Office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is in the process of institutionalizing the Halal program of the government in line with the Halal industry development, thus revealed DTI Provincial Director Sultan Cabili M. Arobinto.
Halal is a Qur’anic term which means lawful or permitted and also sometimes translated as acceptable or allowable.
Haram is the opposite of Halal which means unlawful, prohibited or unacceptable.
Whether the product is Halal or Haram is decided according to the Holy Qur’an and the Shariah or Islamic Law.
The Holy Qur’an prescribes that food must be clean and pure.
It prohibits pork and pork by-products, blood and blood by-products, food item containing alcohol or intoxicants, meat of animals which have not been slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, as well as good which are poisonous and harmful to health.
Arobinto said the institution of Halal quality assurance highlights the acceptability of what constitutes the term Halal according to the Holy Qur’an such that no contamination takes place in the manufacture of food..
This involves the use of science and hard evidence to establish the purity of both ingredients used in the manufacture of food as well as the finished product.
He stressed that the essence of the Halal program is the concept and coverage of Halal quality assurance on food as a way of promoting good health and proper hygiene.
The agencies involved in the Halal Industry Development in are Department of Agriculture (DAF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
"In Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the only recognized Halal certifier is the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board, Inc. The subject of Halal Certification includes processed and manufactured foods, fresh and frozen foods, food service establishments, and slaughterhouses," Arobinto added.
