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| Source: Halal Middle East website. |
The Halal Congress Middle East, jointly organised by Expo Centre Sharjah and the Halal Development Council of Pakistan, is an international gathering for food producers, exporters and importers, dealers and distributors and industry stalwarts to share up-to-date information on halal products; discuss issues facing the industry; explore opportunities that exist is each others’ markets; evaluate compliance, certification and standards; and look out for investment and joint venture opportunities in the UAE.
Global attention is on the UAE as the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) is working on unified standards for halal food and cosmetics, which, once approved by the OIC, will be introduced in all Islamic countries in the near future.
The global halal industry is also keenly watching the developments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which had announced that they are considering making it mandatory for all meat imported into the region to carry a halal stamp.
A set of guidelines for halal certification bodies in the UAE is also in the works, apart from a unified code for halal products that is valid for the whole of GCC.