Issues on animal welfare and Halal regulations discussed at World Halal Forum Europe
By The Halal Journal Team published 2 years ago
Netherlands, 18 November 2009 – The first session of the second day of the World Halal Forum (WHF) Europe in The Hague kicked off with deliberations on major issues and concerns in the Halal industry with regards to supply chain management, animal welfare and ritual slaughter.
The session started with a presentation by Ir. Marco Tieman, CEO of LBB International, who spoke on preserving Halal integrity in the whole supply chain, followed by a joint presentation on animal welfare and Halal animal production according to Shariah by Dr. Michael Appleby and Dr. S. Abdul Rahman, both council members of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, UK.
The next presentation was by Dr. Joe Regenstein (Professor – Head of Cornell Kosher and Halal Food Initiative, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, US) who discussed the challenges and advantages of ritual slaughter.
This first session was closed with a panel discussion chaired by Drs. Irfan Sungkar (WHF/ KasehDia industry advisor). The panellists were Mr. Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, founder and president of the Muslim Consumer Group for Food Products USA, and Mr. Dino Khalid, senior manager for standard development at the International Halal Integrity (IHI) Alliance.
After a short coffee break and networking opportunity, the second session began with the main title: ‘Halal Certification and Regulatory Framework’. The first to take the rostrum was Mr. Darhim Hashim, CEO of IHI Alliance, who explained the Halal certification and regulatory issues to the participants. Mr. Darhim’s presentation was followed by a deliberation on the importance of comprehensive and modern Halal standards in production process by Mr. Rafaiq Bakri Zakaria, director of strategic management of the Department of Standards Malaysia.
A panel discussion chaired by Imarat Consultants senior analyst, Hajj AbdalHamid Evans, closed the second session with an interactive discussion with the participants.
The final session of WHF Europe was the resolution formation panel, which was made up of key speakers and panellists, including Mr. Darhim; Drs. Irfan; Hajj Abdalhamid Evans; and Prof. Dr. Joe Regenstein.
Updates on the resolution and the developments of the resolution will be posted on the WHF website, www.worldhalalforum.org.
The two-day event closed on a positive note with a keynote address by the WHF chairman, H.E. Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, who is also president of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry.