Over the past two years, plant-based food consumption has grown by 49% across the EU, reaching a total sales volume of €3.6 billion.
OIC establishes global halal food standards
2025-05-15
The OIC, representing all Muslim countries in the world, is an international body taking the initiative to establish a halal standard for the entire world; this was announced by Asad Sajjad, secretary general of the Halal Association of Pakistan (HAP).
The OIC has mandated SMIIC to introduce a halal standard that is acceptable to all Muslims and used by halal certification bodies worldwide. "SMIIC is responsible for overseeing the operations and strengthening the regulation of halal food certification bodies. Therefore, it has developed a common halal standard, the OIC-SMICC Halal Food Standard, for halal food production units, halal certification bodies, and halal accreditation bodies," he added. The need now lies in a common OIC-SMICC Halal Standard, recognized by all certification bodies as an authentic and credible standard for manufacturers, certification bodies, and consumers.
The OIC-SMIIC logo will accompany the certification body's logo on products and services. The OIC-SMIIC announced that the World Halal Congress will be held in the capital of Pakistan on June 4, 2014. The conference aims to provide a platform for Muslim scholars, scientific and technical experts from around the world to engage directly with various industries and policymakers, and to discuss the global importance of the OIC-SMIIC Halal Standard. Currently, there are over 400 known Halal certification bodies and organizations worldwide, but only a small fraction are recognized or internationally registered. Some regions have too many certification bodies, exceeding the necessary number, while others have none. This overabundance of bodies can lead to intense competition and consequential suffering, primarily due to the lack of unified standards and compromise solutions.
There are numerous halal food standards worldwide. Each country has its own halal standards, and sometimes different organizations within a country have their own standards. While these standards are similar in most respects, they tend to differ on key points. These differences range from mechanical slaughter inspection to final product alcohol content. These discrepancies lead to unhealthy competition between certification bodies across borders. This can also lead to hostility between some halal/Islamic organizations, which is prohibited under halal law.
Due to the numerous different halal standards in existence worldwide, confusion and misunderstandings arise in the audit and certification process, and the halal logo is often misused. Consequently, supply chains are disrupted, creating artificial shortages of raw materials. Loss of halal status can easily translate into significant losses for manufacturers and producers. The current state of halal certification is thorny and unnecessarily complex. However, the current state of affairs is complex, risky, and sensitive, and it's unclear how long it will last. At some point, this will all collapse, and we will have to bear the consequences: unhappiness, disharmony, and competition will ensue.