Halal Business Compliance Fact Sheet

Halal is an Arabic word that literally means ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful.’ In relation to food in particular, it signifies ‘purity’ and is protected by certain Islamic principles, which the food industry must meet to allay Muslim consumer anxieties about contamination during industrial food production, most notably from pork and alcohol. The market for halal products has grown rapidly in recent decades and the Muslim population is projected to increase globally to 2.2 billion to generate vast business opportunities. As the global halal market has expanded, manufacturers, restaurants, shops and consumers have been presented with ever stricter halal requirements as third-party certification bodies have emerged to assure Muslim consumers about the production of halal products by non-Muslim producers. Acquiring certification has thus become increasingly important for businesses wishing to enter the halal market in the UK and beyond.

Halal certification and compliance hinges on standards for the logistics, systems and infrastructure required to enable the development of food and non-food retailing based on ‘religious observance’. Reflecting on standards helps regulators and businesses to develop infrastructure in a commercial and cultural environment where religious observance is not the overriding concern. Standards are a way of standardizing things or products and may refer to workplace discipline, the packaging of products, and standardized methods that produce consistent results, for example. Some companies choose to focus on internationally recognised goods manufacturing and food safety standards instead of/ alongside global halal standards implemented by countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. The issues involved vary by company size and the regional markets businesses work in.