What is Halal Certification?

Halal certificate; It is a certification that confirms that the products and services of many sectors, especially food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, contain Islamic provisions, health, hygiene and cleanliness elements.

The significant increase in demand for halal products and services all over the world in recent years contributes greatly to the fact that the “Halal Certificate” is a certification that covers a high level of hygiene and safety, as well as Islamic rules. For example; it is not considered sufficient that red meat is only hygienic, but some additional conditions can be put forward for it to be considered halal, as in Kosher. In the same way, the check for halal in production and consumption is not limited for food.

wooden HALAL rubber stamp and imprint with word halal in arabic isolated on white background

While Halal certification concerns not only for food, but also other areas such as service, energy, transportation and cosmetics, the standard of reliability in both service and product production includes respecting the beliefs and values of the Islamic religion at every stage. Halal certification covers various service areas other than food (non-food), many areas such as renewable energy, tourism services, agricultural operations and transportation.

SZUTEST is accredited by the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK) in the field of Halal Certification. In addition, OIC /SMIIC 1:2019 established by SMIIC (Institute of Standards and Metrology of Islamic Countries) provides Halal Certification services by taking into account the general requirements standard for halal food and measures the compliance and competence of the relevant organizations within the requirements of this standard.

Accreditation and Halal Certificate

Accreditation is a quality infrastructure established to support the reliability and validity of conformity confirmation documents issued by conformity assessment bodies. As the definition suggests, accreditation in halal certification ensures that your products and services are both reliable and valid on a global scale.

In addition to this information for halal certification, the accredited halal certificate will be recognized in 57 countries that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

In accordance with the “Regulation on the Import of Products with Halal Conformity Certificate”, which came into force as of January 1, 2024, if the products to be offered to the domestic market carry the “halal sign, halal brand, halal stamp or any halal phrase, the conformity in this regard must be verified by organizations accredited (authorized) by the HAK.” Certification has become mandatory starting from 04 June 2023.

What are the Benefits of Halal Certificate?

Halal certificate provides many benefits to both the consumer and the producer. The Halal certificate provides consumers with the opportunity to make an informed choice in accordance with their preferences, while ensuring that consumers can safely consume the foods they buy with a continuous inspection mechanism.

Halal certificate provides competitive advantage in export. “Halal food”, which is included in the food sector, has been increasing its importance in the global market in recent years. Companies that receive halal certification increase their competitiveness by finding the opportunity to supply their products to the global “halal food” market. Owing to the “halal food” certificate, which is the result of the halal certification process, it becomes much easier to recognize and promote the product and the producer on a global scale.

Obtaining the halal certificate from a certification body with HAK accreditation It allows SMIIC to export and sell its products as “Halal” in all its member countries. In addition, producers with HAK (Halal Accreditation Agency) accredited halal certificates get ahead of their competitors in the national and international markets.

The halal certificate is a sign that the “halal food” product is not only applied to the requirements of the halal law, but also that food safety and hygiene practices are strictly applied in the production of the product /service. Also for organizations that want to get a “Halal Certificate”;

-(KOSGEB) “Business Development Support Program

-Support programs are also available within the framework of the “Decision on Support of Market Entry Documents” numbered 2014/8, put into effect by the Ministry of Commerce.

 

Who Can Get a Halal Certificate?

Although Halal certification is perceived today as a standard prepared for food-based producers, especially meat and meat products, it is accepted in all areas that touch our lives and affect our daily consumption or service routine, such as food, cosmetics and tourism. It is an obtainable and applicable certification standard for organizations that provide production and services. In addition to their applications and services, all organizations that meet the general conditions of the OIC / SMIIC 1: 2019 standard created by the SMIIC organization are subject to audit and may be entitled to this certification.

How to Get Halal Certificate?

Organizations wishing to obtain halal certification must first apply the relevant OIC/SMIIC standard requirements and advance their production/service processes in accordance with Islamic rules.

Let’s talk about the steps related to the halal certification process:

  1. Application evaluation
    2. Performing an audit (certification audits are carried out in 2 stages.)
    3. The certification process is evaluated under three main topic.

Application Evaluation Stage

At this stage, the application form requested from the organization and company information are evaluated in detail. (The contents of the products, additives and suppliers are checked, and a check for alcohol or non-halal content is carried out.) A “Certification Service Agreement” is prepared for the organization that is suitable as a result of the evaluation.

Audit Performance Stage

A 2 stage audit is carried out within the planned time period in line with the organization’s information.

The audit team includes an Islamic Affairs Expert as well as a Halal Auditor. The organization’s ability to produce halal products/services in accordance with the OIC/SMIIC standard is inspected on its site.


Certification Process

The organization file that has successfully completed the audit is delivered to the “Certification Committee”, which also includes an Islamic Affairs Expert. When the committee decides that processes such as Islamic requirements and food safety requirements have been evaluated in detail and that any non-conformities have been closed correctly, the “HALAL CERTIFICATE” is issued, which has a validity of 3 years and is subject to surveillance audit every year.

SZUTEST is one of the first companies to be accredited by the Halal Accreditation Agency (HAK) in the field of halal certification in 2020. Your Halal Certification applications are carefully evaluated by our Expert staff in the field.

Please contact us now for your Halal Certification applications and questions!

SZUTEST > Halal Certification