Varsity launches course on halal food testing

Official says last date to apply for certificate programme is April 15

ISLAMABAD:

To Muslims all over the world, it is mandatory to eat and drink halal products as forbidden food (haram) such as pork and its residual products are not acceptable. However, in an ever-increasing global consumer market, it is becoming difficult to distinguish between what is permitted and what not. To clarify this ambiguity, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) has planned to impart training to researchers, scientists and technicians on establishing "Halal Products Testing".

A certificate course has been designed in this regard to address the interest of scientists and research scholars and technicians involved in food testing and research, a COMSTECH official told the media. The course, scheduled to be held from June 8-10, will be conducted in collaboration with the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) Karachi and the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC).

The deadline for participating in the course is April 15. The official observed that the authentication and confirmation of the halal nature of several products, including processed food and other items of daily use, is a growing challenge globally at present. Besides the environmental contaminants, both biological and chemical, in addition to non-halal ingredients, which is prohibited for Muslims, are matters of concern. In recent years, awareness about halal food and other products has increased due to the cross-contamination of several industrial products in our daily life.

However, with increasing globalisation, many Islamic countries import these products (or ingredients) from places that do not observe Islamic religious laws. It is, therefore, imperative for the Muslim countries to establish halal testing laboratories which will ensure the halal statuses of the consumer products, said the official. This one-week training will focus on educating how to establish a research and development laboratory for the investigation or analysis of non-halal ingredients (prohibited in Islam) in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The course participants will be able to learn the procedure for the laboratory accreditation for ISO 17025 and the procedure to successfully participate in international proficiency testing. According to the eligibility criteria for participating in the course, the applicants must be the resident of OIC countries.

COMSTECH will arrange complete local hospitality, internal transportation, and sightseeing visits for all registered participants. Travel support will be provided to the speakers only while the participants are expected to get their ticket funding from their parent organisations, the official added