THE SOCCSKSARGEN regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has two major halal-focused events coming up.
DOST XII Regional Director Dr. Hadja Sittie Shayma Zenaida P. Hadji Raof Laidan relayed this to SDN — Science and Digital News through an email.
These are the inauguration on February 25 of the Philippine National Halal Laboratory and Science Center (PNHLSC) Building in Barangay (Village) Paraiso in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII) stands for South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City.
She cited the vital function of the PNHLSC in the country’s efforts aimed at taking a bite (no pun intended) at the global halal food market.
“The Philippine National Halal Laboratory and Science Center is a one-stop shop center on Halal with an ultimate goal to develop locally-made products with Halal Premium Brand compliant to internationally accepted standards and requirements adopting the Unified Global Halal Standards of OIC-SMIIC,” Laidan said.
She was referring to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC). SMIIC is an intergovernmental regional standardization organization mandated by the OIC to create common standards among its 57 member States and achieve uniformity in metrology, laboratory testing and crafting conformity assessment.
DOST-SOCCKSARGEN’s second major event is the World Halal Assembly Philippines (WHAP) on February 26-27 at EDSA Shangri-La Manila in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, she said.
Laidan said this year’s WHAP revolves around the theme “Innovation for Sustainable Halal Ecosystem.
“WHAP 2019 will be focused on innovative breakthroughs which not only enable halal products in the country to penetrate the world halal market but also contribute towards a sustainable halal ecosystem,” said Laidan.
She emphasized that the two-day event’s main highlight are the PNHLSC’s inauguration and an international conference boosted by a battery of speakers from the international halal community.
WHAP 2019 is expected to draw quality delegates and important stakeholders on halal, both local and foreign.
For the inauguration of the new building of the PNHLSC, key guests invited included Dr. Arthur Y. Pingoy, Jr., former South Cotabato governor; DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Pena; SMIIC Secretary General Ihsan Ovut of Turkey; Russian Federation Ambassador Ihor A. Khovaev; Chairman of the Board and President Zafer Soylu of the Turkish Halal Accreditation Agency, Turkey; Deputy Vahid Marandi Moghaddam for Supervision on Implementation of Standards, Insitute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran (ISRI), Iran; Assistant Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Zaid of the Muslim World League (MWL/Rabeetah), Saudi Arabia; and Chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC) XII and Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera of General Santos City.
Speakers and panelists for WHAP 2019 are Bosnia and Herzegovina Mufti Mustafa Ceric, president of the Senate, Bosniak Academy of Science and Arts, Bosnia; Ovut; Moghaddam; Soylu; Al-Zaid; Secretary and CEO Atty. Saidamen B. Pangarungan (keynote speech); Director Dr. Mohammed Hussain Shojaee of Faroogh Life Sciences, Iran; Founding Director Winai Dahlan of the Hala Science Center, Thailand;
CEO Dato Dr. Jamil Bidin, Halal Industry Development Corporation, Malaysia; COO Farid Harry Lakhal, MWL/Rabeetah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Rushdi Ahmed Siddiqui of Quest Ventures, United States; Director Dr. Muhammad Umair Arshad, Institute of Home and Food Sciences, Government College University, Pakistan; Theological Director Mufti Zeeshan Abdulaziz, International Halal Certification (PVT) Ltd., Pakistan;
COO Hamed K. Lateef, Fahm-ul-Halal and TTL Testing Laboratory, Pakistan; Mughees Shaukat, head, Islamic Finance, College of Banking and Financial Studies, Sultanate of Oman; Bidin; COO Mohammad Zubair, Al-Huda CIBE, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dean Dr. Shariffuddin Shahrani, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University Economy Sabah, Malaysia;
Prof. Dr. Syed Chulam Musharraf, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Malaysia; Director Dr. Badar Ali Hamad Al-Qamashqui, Subul Studies Consultancy, Sultante of Oman; and, last but not the least, Chemist Ms. Marwa Mohamed Rezk Mohamed Khalil, Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, Egypt.
An article on the global halal food market for 2018-2023 showed the market value of the Muslim dietary consumer products is predicted to climb to US$2.6 trillion. It was $1.4 trillion in 2017.
Its growth is attributed to its being “primarily driven by health benefits offered by halal food items which is continuously influencing the eating patterns of people…(and) has resulted in an increase in the consumption and acceptance of halal food among non-Muslim communities.” (EKU)
Resources:
DOST-SOCCSKSARGEN, https://www.prnewswire.com and https://www.smiic.org/