Introduction
The Malaysian Standard for Halal Food MS 1500 provides guidance on the preparation and handling of halal food. The standard consists of eight clauses that must be complied by organizations that plan on obtaining halal certification from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia.
In Malaysia, more businesses are working to get certified halal due to the rising demand for halal products. Currently, 9,520 businesses in Malaysia have been certified as halal. As a Muslim-majority country, this increase is ostensibly due to an increasing preference and accessibility to halal-certified products. This preference, thus, provides impetus for more organizations to seek halal certification. Muslims have also been shown to firmly believe in the importance of halal food ingredients in preserving their health and faith. Globally, this trend is envisaged to similarly increase in light of the expanding Muslim population, and the globalization of halal standards.
In riding this trend, the Malaysian government intends for the country to be a global centre for halal products. To achieve this, halal service providers must ensure that “halal toyyiban” goods and services are offered. This would mean that both domestic and international businesses in Malaysia and outside are eligible for halal certification. According to the Malaysian Standard on Halal Food MS 1500, the following candidates are qualified to apply for halal certification:
1. Manufacturer or producer
2. Distributor or dealer
3. Sub-contract manufacturers
4. Repackaging
5. Food premises
6. Slaughterhouse
Not only may MS 1500 certification benefit the company, but it can also benefit stakeholders and customers. Examples of benefits include a) penetration to the largest market share in the food sector because Malaysia’s halal logo is highly respected and well received by Muslim countries; b) Malaysia’s halal certification system gives confidence to businesses, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders that a product is halal and Shariah compliant; c) the standard entails specific technical requirements in the preparation of a product that is halal and Shariah compliant, d) the standard holistically looks at other factors such as managing human resources. This may assist in increasing staff morale and commitment; e) providing businesses a competitive advantage, and f) consequently increasing profits.
Ensuring Product Quality via Halal Certification
In addition to being essential for obtaining halal certification, the application of MS 1500 standards aids in the production of high-quality goods through eight requirements.
1) Management Responsibilities
Management must ensure its employees’ competency with relevant training in preparing halal products. This would guarantee that halal products can be prepared by fulfilling the relevant food control and halal criteria. In other words, both management and employees play significant roles in the production of halal products. Additionally, the management must ensure that the records of halal food production and administration are kept up to date. This enables control over production and early error detection.
2) Facility Premises
The development and upkeep of facility premises are necessary for an efficient halal production process. The risk of product contamination can be eliminated with a well-planned and executed production process flow. Additionally, the production of halal products places a high priority on cleanliness. This is to prevent the introduction of contaminants such as dirt and dung to raw materials and halal products produced on the property.
3) Machinery, Processing Equipment, and Utensils
Porcine and porcine-derived materials must not be utilised in any part of the production including the machineries, processing equipment, and utensils. Additionally, machineries, processing equipment, and utensils must be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.
4) Cleanliness, Sanitation and Food Safety
Reinforcing the importance of cleanliness, MS 1500 requires the implementation and thorough upkeep of good personal hygiene, clothes, equipment, premises, food processing, and storage. Furthermore, halal food processing and distribution must adhere to on-site hygiene standards based on several guidelines, including Veterinary Hygiene Practices (VHP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP).
5) Halal Food Processing
For the manufacture of halal food, only halal ingredients are permitted. Ingredients that are deemed halal can be derived from plants, microbes, minerals, chemicals, solutions, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The use of halal ingredients would, thus, prevent the introduction of harmful contaminants. Additionally, all products must be prepared, distributed, and served in accordance to MS 1500.
6) Storage, Transportation, Exhibition, Sale and Serving of Halal Products
Every halal product that is sold, served, transported, displayed, or stored must have a halal label. To prevent spoiling, products should also be kept in appropriate locations. For instance, storing products in fridges. It is also important to ensure that these products be delivered to the sales location. Accordingly, the transport vehicle needs to be deemed appropriate for carrying halal food, and meet all hygienic and sanitation requirements.
7) Packaging and Labeling
In addition to being Shariah compliant, the packaging of products need to conducted in a hygienic environment. Furthermore, halal products cannot be given names that could confuse consumers by using terms such as “ham”, “bak kut teh”, “bacon”, and “beer.” The product name, net content, trademark, manufacturer, importer, and distributor names and addresses, identification code number, manufacturer number, and expiration date must all be included on the packaging.
8) Legal requirements
Legal standards, including those already in effect in Malaysia and/or other nations, must be adhered to in the production of halal products. These would include those from law enforcement, regulators, and legal institutions.
Challenges of Implementing MS 1500: A Case Study of a Malaysian Halal Food Product Company
Based on the author’s empirical research, challenges in implementing MS 1500 are highlighted in this section. This research was conducted on a leading Malaysian producer of halal food located in Klang Valley.
1) The Need for Employees to be Constantly Highly Motivated
All employees are required to ensure compliance with MS 1500 in its halal food production process. This is particular pertinent at the assembly line where employees must ensure that machinery and equipment are in good working order. Additionally, employees in the assembly line are key in ensuring that the food production process is free of contaminants. This requires employees at this area to competently identify and address contaminated food and spillages. Here lies two issues: a) to keep employees motivated to remain committed and attentive when performing their duties, and b) the need to monitor employees in the assembly line to deal with contamination effectively. One way to keep employees committed and attentive, the management of this company prioritises the provision of adequate downtime to employees.
2) Stringent MS 1500
The eight requirements of MS 1500 are highly detailed, technical and intricate. Management and employees must fully comprehend each of the eight requirements in order to execute MS 1500 competently. Acting as a conduit between management and line employees, the company is supported by middle managers and executives. They are provided training to perform tasks associated with managing halal operations. These middle managers and executives would have regular meetings with management and stakeholders to address issues raised in the production process.
3) The Need for High Standard of Hygiene
As part of ensuring halal products in adherence to MS 1500, the upkeep of high standards of hygiene must be ensured in operational areas. A key part of instilling this would be employees deployed in these areas as they would be a primary source of potential contamination. Therefore, processes must be established to ensure that employees’ hygiene is maintained before entering these areas and during the production process. The company in this research has to ensure the provision of adequate facilities and equipment to facilitate employees maintenance of hygiene such as proper wash areas and areas for employees to don their appropriate clothing and equipment.
4) Unwarranted Doubts over Halal Production Process
Though the company in this research is the top manufacturer of halal food in Malaysia, it is still subjected to slander. This would arise from allegations such as raw materials used are not halal or that its halal status is questionable. Unfortunately, defamation is easy to propagate among consumers and the general public particularly with social media. This would thus impact sales of the company’s products. To address such slanders, the company has resorted to publicly display the halal certificate of raw materials used in its production. Additionally, the company provides refutations of all slanders on its website and on both online and offline platforms.
5) Managing a Rising Demand
Conversely, a rising demand for the company’s products, ironically, also present an issue. There is currently a growing demand for the company’s products to changes in lifestyle in Malaysia. To deal with the increasing demands at work, Malaysian youths are becoming more dependent on fully or partially prepared meals. Additionally, the company has to deal with a different level of complexity as it provides a wide range of halal food products. Therefore, the company had to increase its manufacturing facilities and to adopt new technologies to satisfy the rising demand. Management of this company would, thus, have to ensure that the new infrastructure and new technologies adhere to the rigorous MS 1500.
Conclusion
Quality halal products that satisfy the demands of today’s consumers can be produced through the implementation of the rigorous Malaysian Standard on Halal Food MS 1500. In addition to ensuring quality, effective implementation of MS 1500 provides other benefits such as increasing Muslim consumer’s confidence of halal product. Despite these benefits, implementing MS 1500 is not without its challenges. These challenges include the difficulty in complying to the requirements of MS 1500 and managing consumers perception to the authenticity of the halal products offered. Nevertheless, these challenges can be addressed as highlighted in the aforementioned case study.
While there are definitive benefits for companies to implement MS 1500, it is not without challenges. Halal certification can boost consumer confidence in the calibre of the product produced in addition to confirming that it is halal. Therefore, in order to survive in the difficult economic climate of today, entrepreneurs should work to achieve halal certification, as it can significantly add value to the organization.
