{"id":24827,"date":"2020-10-26T00:31:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T16:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hdcglobal.com\/2020\/11\/halal-industry-hopes-the-benefits-from-jakims-new-iso-accreditation-will-filter-down\/"},"modified":"2020-11-12T00:34:14","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T16:34:14","slug":"halal-industry-hopes-the-benefits-from-jakims-new-iso-accreditation-will-filter-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/2020\/10\/26\/halal-industry-hopes-the-benefits-from-jakims-new-iso-accreditation-will-filter-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Halal industry hopes the benefits from JAKIM\u2019s new ISO accreditation will filter down"},"content":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR – The recent move by Malaysia\u2019s halal authority to adopt ISO standards will level the playing field for companies seeking certification, according to experts canvassed by Salaam Gateway.<\/p>\n

On October 10, the Halal Management Division of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, known as\u00a0JAKIM, announced it had been declared compliant<\/a>\u00a0by the Department of Standards Malaysia with International Standard ISO\/IEC 17065:2012 for certification bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accreditation is a valuable indicator for the degree of trust and confidence of the Malaysia halal certification system,\u201d Bukhari Md Akhir, director of JAKIM\u2019s Halal Management Division, told Salaam Gateway in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt boosts trust to the public and industries that JAKIM\u2019s halal certification attains very stringent standards and requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the core of this standard is the intention that \u201ccertification bodies operate certification schemes in a competent, consistent and impartial manner\u201d. ISO\/IEC 17065\u2019s aim is to galvanise the requirements JAKIM sets for halal certification applications by formalising its operating procedures and removing the ability of its officials to give differing interpretations of its regulations.<\/p>\n

Though the ISO standard sets out to govern the certification authority\u2019s own internal processes, its provisions are likely to have a knock-on effect on applicants for halal certification, Salaam Gateway was told.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
JAKIM’S ISO ACCREDITATION BENEFITS TO HALAL INDUSTRY INCLUDE:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Compliance with national standards including Malaysian Standards MS1500, MS 2400, MS2424 and MS 2636, and FSMS\/ISO:2200, GMP, HACCP and FSSC international standards to eliminate the need for further testing along the domestic and export supply chain.<\/li>\n
  • ISO\/IEC 17065 provides independent assurance that halal products are manufactured under an effective system of ingredients, testing, supervision and control which should lead to increased profitability and efficiency and reduced wastage.<\/li>\n
  • It demonstrates the competence of JAKIM\u2019s personnel and the credibility of its certification processes to ensure international recognition of JAKIM halal certificates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Source: A\u00a0briefing document acquired by Salaam Gateway from SIRIM, the government-owned agency that assisted JAKIM in securing ISO\/IEC 17065 accreditation.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

    BENEFITS FOR HALAL INDUSTRY<\/strong><\/p>\n

    At present, companies under JAKIM\u2019s scheme are often forced to endure delays both for their initial applications and during a two-yearly audit they must undergo to maintain their certification. They must also deal with points of view that vary depending on an official\u2019s competence and interpretation of the rulebook.<\/p>\n

    This is set to change through the ISO accreditation, according to one halal advisor who helps applicants through the process.<\/p>\n

    JAKIM publishes timelines based on its own SOPs, but in reality it often does not meet these, said Khairy, who declined to give his full name out of fear that criticism of the government agency might lead to reprisals against him and his business.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWith ISO accreditation, the applications should go more smoothly because the SOPs JAKIM must now follow are handed down to them,\u201d he said. \u201cThese ISO SOPs will be more formal and they must now be handled properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

    JAKIM\u2019s guidelines might state a certification process should last, say, two months, but might in effect take six months to complete for a variety of reasons ranging from an auditor\u2019s professional ability to the availability of JAKIM officials. According to Layla Emka, managing director of a halal snack food manufacturer, there has traditionally been no way of anticipating how long it will take the authority to complete an audit.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe main issue we have faced is in the auditing time and waiting period for being evaluated. There isn\u2019t a gauge; everything depends on JAKIM\u2019s workflow or other things that cannot be explained,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThey will say, \u2019Oh sorry, we have so much work; we have a backlog; there\u2019s not enough manpower\u2019, so nothing can really be estimated in advance. Everybody expects to have to wait for JAKIM to work to its own time.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Under ISO\u2019s standards, however, everything must be recorded by JAKIM and planned in advance. \u201cThere will be certain allocations for periods of time to do certain tasks. It will help speed up the process for the applicants,\u201d added Layla.<\/p>\n

    She is under no doubt the new accreditation is being met with relief in the industry. Food manufacturers will stand to benefit through better certainty, while foodservice operators, who must have every processed ingredient that is used across their menus audited, will be the biggest winners.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have yet to see how they will deliver. But yes, it should give everyone a better level of assurance through JAKIM\u2019s service,\u201d Layla said.<\/p>\n

    \"Wisma<\/p>\n

    Photo: Wisma JAKIM in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Oct 1, 2016.\u00a0<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

    JAKIM OFFICIALS MUST UNDERSTAND ISO RULES<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Zuhaila, a halal consultant who also declined to give her full name, believes above all that the ISO standards should provide much needed confidence that JAKIM\u2019s rules are applied across the board, but for this to have an impact on applicants, officials must all understand ISO\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf the staff understand the terms of ISO and follow it closely, it will definitely benefit applicants as well as JAKIM in terms of enforcement. I\u2019m not sure how far JAKIM\u2019s officers understand ISO, though; it will have to equip them will all that knowledge,\u201d Zuhaila said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cISO standards are set in stone and you know what to expect. Previously, there was a lot of leeway with JAKIM, so you didn\u2019t know what to expect from your audit, and not everything was implemented the same way. With ISO, every standard has to be interpreted the same way,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

    To address its officials\u2019 understanding of ISO terms, JAKIM\u2019s Halal Management Division director told Salaam Gateway it has arranged training courses to \u201cimprove the competence of the officers, strengthen the delivery system to clients and improve work procedures in halal certification process\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Bukhari also said the ISO accreditation had been JAKIM\u2019s ambition since 2007.<\/p>\n

    \u201cSince then, the management of the Halal Hub Division has developed and improved procedures, operational processes and internal structures according to the standards and requirements. In 2016, a section was established and assigned specifically to coordinate the task and we officially submitted our application in January 2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

    To bring the authority in line with ISO\u2019s requirements, JAKIM announced in August that all halal certification holders must sign a halal certification agreement to ensure they comply with all requirements stated in ISO\/IEC 17065.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAny changes made due to the standards and requirements that need the participation from the clients shall be announced through the Malaysia Halal Certification Circular,\u201d Bukhari added.<\/p>\n

    (Reporting by Richard Whitehead; Editing by Emmy Abdul Alim emmy.abdulalim@salaamgateway.com)<\/p>\n

    \u00a9 SalaamGateway.com 2020\u00a0All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n

    Source: https:\/\/www.salaamgateway.com\/story\/halal-industry-hopes-the-benefits-from-jakims-new-iso-accreditation-will-filter-down<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    KUALA LUMPUR – The recent move by Malaysia\u2019s halal authority to adopt ISO standards will level the playing field for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-ms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24832,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24827\/revisions\/24832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hdcglobal.com\/ms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}