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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
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"Of late, it is interesting to note that many non-Muslims are eating Halal food because they consider Halal food as also wholesome, meaning healthy, safe, nutritious and with good quality." |
The Halal Journal talked to a passionate food scientist from JAKIM who was instrumental in promoting the concept of Halal onto the world stage, Puan Mariam Abdul Latiff.
The JAKIM's Principal Assistant Director (Halal Certification) was one of the founding secretariat for the adoption of the term "Halal" to be accepted by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO) when Codex Alimentarius adopted the Guidelines for Use of the term "Halal" to supplement the guidelines on Claims in June 1997.
1. What do you think of the level of public’s awareness on healthy foods of late? What do you think had sparked the interest in organic foods?
"Healthy foods stimulate interest from all layers of the world population including Muslims. Of late, it is interesting to note that many non-Muslims are eating Halal food because they consider Halal food as also wholesome, meaning healthy, safe, nutritious and with good quality. It is difficult to comment the level of public’s awareness on healthy foods vis-à-vis organic foods because I am not aware of any studies done on Malaysian consumers in this field. Of course in general, healthy foods refer to a balanced diet of foods that can supply sufficient nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals to the body.
Selecting the right food is equally important. The food should not only be safe but also to be taken in certain amount as required by the body. This fits very well with the practice of our Prophet Muhammad SAW who only eats when he is hungry and stops eating before he is full. But of course the Prophet only eats Halal food and he likes eating tamar (dates), milk, honey and fruits, which are all very healthy foods.
Many people confuse between healthy and organic foods. Organic food in relation to organic agriculture is defined by Codex as “a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.” In other words, organic agriculture is based on minimising the use of external inputs, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides or “chemical-free” food. For example farms are not treated with any direct chemicals such as chemical fertiliser but instead the farmers use organically produced compost for fertilizing their crops."
2. From the perspective of a food scientist, what do you think of the safety levels of foods that are available currently in the market? Wouldn’t Halal take care of the food safety aspects naturally?
Food safety is very relative. It is a very wide subject and until today we are still confronted with all sorts of food-borne diseases. Even at the international level, we are still looking at avian flu and the H15 viruses which can go into our food chain and if the food is hazardous to health, it is also considered as not Halal because Halal food is also safe or good which is encompassed in the word ‘thoyyiban’.
I remember I had to do an extensive research on my own to finish my Master’s study in 2003, as there is not many research work done on Halal food and there is not much literature written about it. I am still hoping to further my studies when I have the opportunity and I would really look forward to see more people come forward to study Halal food, in all aspects of Shariah, science and sociology etc.
My personal view is when a product is certified Halal, it is also considered safe and with good quality according to its label and claim, if any. Muslims are obliged to eat Halal and ‘thoyyiban’ food as instructed by Allah in the Qur’an, in Surah al-Baqarah verse 168, meaning “O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, halal and thaiyiban (wholesome), and do not follow the footsteps of the Evil One, for he is to you an avowed enemy”.
Clearly, Halal food is for everyone in the world, required by all Muslims but it has no problems with non-Muslims, so Halal food can also be considered as universal food, which is excellent news for any food producers to supply their Halal food products for over 6 billion people on this earth!
For Muslims, eating Halal and thoyyiban food is an obligation. They should therefore make sure that the food is not only Halal, meaning does not contain any haram or najis components, and it should also be thoyyiban or wholesome.
3. With regards to BSE, HFM and avian flu, what do you think was the main cause of these global epidemics and would adhering to the Halal standards reduce the probabilities of these ever occurring again?
I would say these global epidemics started with something small, but we have not done enough research in these diseases in relation to Halal situations. I remember the word ‘jallalah’ in one of the Hadist in the book entitled Bulughul Maram which mentioned about it being referred to reared animals being fed with other animals and was asked not to eat or drink its milk. (More studies needs to be done on this to respond to issues of Mad Cow Disease – an international relevance to all, Muslims and non-Muslims)
4. What should the biggest concern for consumers these days in buying processed foods off the shelves? What should they look out for?
Of course the biggest concern will be to look out for really Halal processed foods. I would advise Muslim consumers to look out for JAKIM’s Halal logo and to confirm the status, one can SMS to JAKIM’s e-Halal by typing Halal followed with the barcode of the product and send the SMS to 32728. Consumers should also continue to read and understand about Halal matters and try to ensure that they eat Halal food to live and serve Allah in our routine obligations.
5. Working under JAKIM’s new Halal Hub division, what do you think would be the biggest challenge if one were to see the MS1500:2004 being adopted by all Muslim countries as the single standard?
The biggest challenge would be to get a consensus from all Muslim countries to adopt the MS1500:2004 as a standard for Halal food production. With due respect, we share the little differences between the Islamic Schools of Thoughts: Syafie, Hambali, Maliki and Hanafi, but it is very important to have the basics of Halal food production documented for practical reference for everyone. If need be, the MS1500 can be further revised and incorporate other common requirements.
6. Would you mind sharing the vision of this new one-stop Jakim’s Halal Centre @enstek? What would be the primary role of the laboratories at the centre?
Recapping from what Hj. Sumali bin Amat mentioned in the last Halal Journal, JAKIM is setting the chart to be the world’s foremost Halal certification and Reference Centre. The primary role of the laboratories is to analyse samples for haram materials and contamination to support the approval of applications for Halal certification and to monitor as well as support the enforcement activities. The analytical activities will also serve internal research work on Halal certification and other related fields covering Halal food and products from the domestic and international market. The laboratory will serve customers in the country and also from other countries in the world. We plan to work together with the Institute of Halal Food, Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Chemistry Department to develop a strong database on analytical techniques and sampling work in developing JAKIM as the reference centre for all information and updates about Halal food."
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