Not-for-profit company handles Halal Compliance Certification

A new, not- for- profit company that has been formed in Sri Lanka to handle Halal certification asserts that such certification is not being forced on anyone.

“This certification is not forced upon anybody,” said Ali Fatharally, CEO of Halal Accreditation Council ( Guarantee) Ltd ( HAC), in a statement issued this week.

“HAC was established to cater to a national need and as far as we are concerned, there is no compulsion for any business to be Halal compliant. Also as much as we say we are a not for profit organisation, it does not mean our services are gratis. We employ a large number of professionals to ensure that best practices are maintained in this certification process. And therefore have to meet the cost in supporting the mechanism we have put in place,” he said.

The company, operating from January 1st has been set up under the Sri Lanka Companies Act No 7 of 2007, and has accreditation in 27 countries as of now.

“Halal compliance certification is an important part of doing business in the world today, and as such Sri Lankan companies gearing their products to the export market, would find that this is an international standard that has to be followed, in order to do business in some key markets across the world. Therefore, HAC will meet a commercial requirement as this certification is like any other compliance standard, such as SLS or ISO,” he said.

This development follows protests from sections of the Buddhist clergy over such certification by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, the national Muslim organization mandated to issue Halal certificates on food products, saying it was being forced on non-Muslims, a charge vigorously denied by the Ulama.

The company said the compliance certification is a very thorough process to assure required standards for a wide range of industries which include FMCG, healthcare, pharmaceutical, etc and HAC has a qualified technical team to handle the scientific process behind this compliance certification.

“All our internal processors are transparent and audited by reputed international firms,” the CEO noted.

HAC is primarily, a not for profit organization which is founded and managed by some of Sri Lanka’s top professionals who assures the country’s business community that international best practices will be maintained in Halal certification, whilst keeping within the guidelines.

“We can’t go beyond the fact that even though this certification has scientific and commercial implications, it is also based on religious and cultural principles. This certification is to ensure that consumers’ right of choice for Halal compliant products and services is facilitated in a responsible manner. One must also take into consideration a large international consumption market where Sri Lankan produce can be sold with such certification. It is a fact that there are close on 2 billion Muslims over the world who would exclusively buy Halal certified products,” Mr. Fatharally said.