Applying halal standards within a company

Obtaining halal certification is about more than a visit from an auditor. Before that, a company has to organise its purchasing, production, product development and teams so that it meets a standard on a lasting basis. This is what is called a halal management system: a set of rules, responsibilities and records built into day-to-day operations.

This internal work creates specific roles, often given to quality, R&D or purchasing staff who become the company's halal leads. This page explains how such a system is set up, what it changes for new product development and which skills are in demand.

The building blocks of a halal management system

Standards vary, but most follow a logic close to that of quality and food safety management standards:

• Management commitment: a written halal policy, allocated resources and clearly assigned responsibility.
• Halal team or lead: one or more trained people responsible for running the system, often with external religious support.
• Halal risk analysis: identifying at each stage the points where the product could lose its compliance (ingredient, contact, cleaning, subcontracting), in the manner of a HACCP analysis.
• Control of raw materials: a list of approved ingredients, up-to-date supplier certificates and a procedure for handling changes.
• Operating procedures: segregation, cleaning, labelling, handling non-compliant products.
• Staff training: awareness for everyone, in-depth training for key roles.
• Internal audits and management review: regularly checking that the system works and correcting deviations.

In companies already certified to standards such as ISO 9001 or ISO 22000, the halal system is often integrated into the existing documentation, which makes the work easier and avoids duplication.

Developing compliant products

From the design stage

It is far simpler to design a product as halal from the outset than to correct an existing recipe. The R&D team must check the origin of every ingredient, additive, flavouring, enzyme and processing aid, and choose suppliers able to provide a recognised certificate. The most common sensitive points are presented on the page devoted to careers in nutrition and food science.

Beyond ingredients

• Food-grade lubricants used on machinery.
• Cleaning products, some of which contain alcohol or animal derivatives.
• Packaging and food-contact materials.
• Subcontractors and co-packers, who must apply the same rules.

Change management

A supplier changing its formula, an emergency purchase from another manufacturer, a new production line: every change can call compliance into question. The system must provide for prior approval by the halal lead and, where necessary, for informing the certification body.

Beyond food: cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other products

The same approach applies to cosmetics, food supplements, medicines and some hygiene products. The points to watch change: alcohol in formulations, collagen, glycerine, keratin, gelatine capsules. The related jobs are covered in detail on the pages devoted to halal cosmetics and halal pharmaceutical products.

The roles involved

• Halal coordinator or lead: runs the system, prepares audits, tracks certificates and trains teams. In large groups the role is sometimes full-time; more often it is an additional responsibility attached to a quality role.
• Certification project manager: leads the initial process, from the gap analysis to obtaining the certificate.
• R&D engineer and formulator: designs compliant products and validates alternative ingredients.
• Buyer and purchasing manager: selects certified suppliers and builds halal requirements into specifications.
• Quality manager: integrates halal into the overall quality system; see the page on halal quality management.
• Consultant: supports companies that lack the internal resources.

Skills and training

Recruiters look for people able to translate a standard into practical procedures. Useful qualifications are master's and professional bachelor's degrees in quality, food safety, food science or formulation engineering, complemented by training in the target halal standard and, if possible, in internal auditing. Key qualities are:

• a methodical mind and the ability to write simple procedures;
• good interpersonal skills to win over production teams and suppliers;
• technical curiosity to understand where every component comes from;
• sufficient knowledge of halal rules to know when to seek a religious opinion.

Lawfulness and responsibility

Helping a company to produce in a genuinely compliant way is a useful activity that most scholars view favourably. Difficulties can arise with a company that wants the logo without the effort, or with a mixed range in which your role would also involve developing products containing alcohol or pork. Clarify your remit when you are hired. The page on companies with mixed activities presents the common opinions; for a personal case, consult a qualified scholar.

Tips for positioning yourself

• Volunteer to be your company's halal lead if it is considering certification: it is an excellent way to specialise.
• Learn to read the standards of the main certification bodies and the international standards that apply to your markets.
• Document your achievements: number of products approved, audits passed, suppliers requalified.
• Stay rigorous about sources: an expired or unrecognised certificate weakens the whole system.