Accreditation guidelines to boost Phl halal sector

MANILA, Philippines - The recent issuance by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) of a set of criteria and guidelines for the accreditation of halal certification bodies or entities is expected to boost the Philippine halal industry and will increase the country’s share in the multi-trillion dollar global halal market.

After a series of consultations with concerned stakeholders, NCMF Commissioners in an en banc session on Dec. 14, 2011 finally approved the criteria and guidelines for the accreditation of halal certification bodies and entities in the Philippines.

“This stringent set of criteria and guidelines is expected to lend credibility to the local halal certification system and will definitely boost the local halal industry as only qualified and credible organizations shall be accredited and recognized to certify certain local products as halal,” according to secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman who presided over the said en banc session.

Aside from the qualifications and other safeguards, one of the important features of such criteria and guidelines is the use of the new and exclusive Philippine halal logo.

In the previous certification scheme, halal certification bodies or entities have been using their own logos on their respective halal-certified products. But countries with strong Halal industry like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, among others, have been using their respective exclusive halal logos officially sanctioned by their governments.

Dianalan-Lucman explains that the imposition of the exclusive Philippine halal logo is aimed at addressing the issue of the proliferation of suspected bogus halal-certified products in the local market. Also, with the approval of the said criteria and guidelines, she advises local manufacturers, especially those that have been using the OMA logo to secure halal certification only from organizations that are accredited with the NCMF.

The NCMF also warns of illegal use of the OMA logo as there is no individual nor private entity that has the authority to use the same since OMA was already abolished and its functions and assets absorbed by the NCMF. Currently, the NCMF is coordinating and establishing formal tie ups with concerned international halal organizations and governments to make sure that organizations accredited with it are given proper recognition abroad.