Ad-Hoc Working Group Meeting in KL.

PURSUANT to the decision of the Special Meeting of the Senior Officials of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), which was held on 23 - 25 Jul 96 in Kuala Lumpur. Delegates from ASEAN member countries attended the meeting. Singapore was represented by officials from the Primary Production Department (PPD) and MUIS.

The objective of the Meeting was to initiate the formulation of an ASEAN guidelines on the preparation and handling of halal food.

Singapore presented two papers in this Meeting. In his paper, "A Review of Singapore's Meat Hygiene and Safety Requirements", Dr Paul Chiew, Head/Food Inspection Service Branch of PPD briefed on his department's control programme to ensure meat safety and hygiene.

Hj Abdul Rahim Saleh, Community Services and Relations Manager of MUIS presented a paper on, 'Review of Current Status of Halal Food Control System in Singapore'. He briefed on Singapore's procedures for inspection, labelling and certification for halal food for domestic and international trade as well as on other food control regulations.

The Meeting considered and decided to adopt, except that on 'Comsuption Goods', Mabims's (Unofficial Meeting of the Religious Ministers of Negara Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) halal food guidelines as the draft general ASEAN guidelines for the preparation and handling of halal food.

International Halal Food and Technology Exhibition and Conference 96 (INHAFEX) in Kuala Lumpur

STILL on the subject of halal food, MUIS was invited to share its experience on its halal certification system in an international conference on halal food in Kuala Lumpur on 25 - 26 Jul 96. The conference was attended by about 200 participants.

In his paper, "Halal Food Certificaton: Singapore's Experience", Hj Abdul Rahim Saleh provided a brief outline the history and types of halal certification in Singapore as halal logo which is issued by the islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).

Hj Abdul Rahim also highlighted some common problems faced by halal certifying agencies in rendering such service. He suggested some possible ways toward the international standardisation of halal procedures and logo with the hope that it will assist halal certifying authorities, food exporters and business entrepreneurs.

1st International Halal Food Conference in Melbourne, Australia (INHAFEX 96)

FOLLOWING last year's success in staging the nationwide halal food conference in Melbourne, Australia, the Arabic Society of Victoria recently organized its first international halal food conference in the newly-opened Melbourne Exhibition Centre on 9 and 10 Sep 96.

More than 150 participants participated in the conference. The participants, mostly non-Muslims listened attentively to the distinguised experts from the USA, Malaysia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Singapore who addressed major issues and answer key questions about halal food.

Representing MUIS, Hj Abdul Rahim Saleh presented a paper entitled, "Marketing Strategy for Halal Food". With his marketing background and halal food experience, Hj Abdul Rahim highlighted some basic marketing concepts and its impact on the general consumer behaviour of Muslims. He further explained the influence and importance of religious factors in the daily consumption behaviour of Muslim consumers.

In marketing halal food and services, Hj Abdul Rahim stressed that marketers need to have an adequate knowledge of Islamic food dietary laws, understand the Muslim consumers' and the benefits of having a Halal certificate.