Halal Certification Requirements

Halal Certification Requirements
Contents [hide]

• 
  1 The Fundamental Requirement
  
• 
  2 Product
  
• 
  3 Application of the Fundamental Requirements
  
  • 
    3.1 Supply Chain
    
  • 
    3.2 Production
    
  • 
    3.3 Sanitation
    
  • 
    3.4 Warehousing & Logistics
    
  • 
    3.5 Documentation
    
  • 
    3.6 Labeling
    
• 
  4 Halal Critical Control Points (HCCPs)
  
  • 
    4.1 Haram (Contaminant) HCCPs:
    
• 
  5 HCCP Decision Trees
  
  • 
    5.1 Identification of Critical Control Points in Plant Products
    
  • 
    5.2 Identification of Critical Control Points in Animal Derived Products
    
  • 
    5.3
    
  • 
    5.4 Identification of Critical Points of Warehousing and Production Lines
    
  • 
    5.5
    
• 
  6 Get in Touch
  
  • 
    6.1 Connect with a halal certification expert.
    
• 
  7 Featured Insights
  
• 
  8 Get in Touch
  
  • 
    8.1 Connect with a halal certification expert.
    

The Fundamental Requirement
Product
The most universally accepted basic principle for halal certification is everything is halal except ABCD IS haram (non-halal).
A: Alcohol (including other intoxicants)
B: Blood (poured forth)
C: Carnivorous animals (non-fish)
D: Dead Meat (meat not slaughtered per Islamic rites)
I: Immolated foods
S: Swine (porcine and its derivatives)
More practically:

1. 
   Non-halal certified animal derivatives
   
   
   
2. 
   Ethanol
   

Facility:
The fundamental principle regarding registering a facility for halal certification is:
“The integrity of the halal identity of a product should be maintained from start to finish.”
Application of the Fundamental Requirements
There are a few core aspects of commercial productions where the “fundamental requirement’ is critical:

1. 
   Supply Chain
   
2. 
   Production
   
3. 
   Sanitation
   
4. 
   Warehousing & Logistics
   
5. 
   Documentation
   
6. 
   Labeling
   

Supply Chain
The application of the fundamental principle of halal in the supply chain requires cooperation between all stakeholders in the supply chain, including raw material suppliers, logistic providers, and all other suppliers.
Again the key would be to determine if any non-halal ingredients are present in the supply chain or if raw materials have been contaminated with non-halal materials.
Companies should:

1. 
   Maintain the following documentation:
   
   1. 
      Material purchasing documents
      
   2. 
      Material receiving documents
      
   3. 
      Research and development (formulation) documents
      
   4. 
      Certificates of analysis (CoAs)
      
   5. 
      SDS/TDS documentation
      
   6. 
      Vendor onboarding document that includes a halal suitability statement
      
   7. 
      Labels of incoming raw materials
      
   8. 
      Any halal certifications for raw materials or other vendors, including halal certification of packaging materials, warehouses, and logistic providers.
      
   9. 
      Bills of lading for raw materials
      
   10. 
       Halal suitability statements
       
   11. 
       Maintain other supplier certifications such as GMP, SQF, NSF, & FDA
       
2. 
   Contractually obligate suppliers to disclose any material changes to the product that may alter the halal identity of the product
   
3. 
   Identify any critical risks in the supply chain, such as a supplier with predominantly haram materials in their facility.
   
4. 
   Ensure that the purchasing department has basic training in halal concepts.
   
5. 
   Have a containment protocol in place for materials that are discovered to be contaminated
   
6. 
   Create an updated matrix of AHF-approved materials
   
7. 
   Create a matrix of haram raw materials present
   
8. 
   Seek prior authorization from AHF before adding raw materials to halal formulations
   

Production
Applying the fundamental requirement of halal (certification) in production is centered around ensuring that the raw materials and resulting products are not contaminated at any step of production, from staging to shipping.
Companies should:

1. 
   Create a production flow chart that is approved by the AHF technical team.
   
2. 
   Establish a complete production system to ensure the halal integrity of process and product and avoid contamination from haram and najis.
   
3. 
   Exclusively use raw materials/ingredients for halal production that have been approved according to the matrix of materials approved by AHF.
   
4. 
   Seek pre-authorization for any material changes to the production.
   
5. 
   Ensure production staff are oriented about the basics of halal.
   
6. 
   Ensure production is in complete accordance with the AHF-approved halal formula.
   
7. 
   Create a containment plan if halal materials/production/products become contaminated with non-halal materials/production/products.
   
8. 
   Assess the necessary Halal Critical Control Points
   
9. 
   Track any amendments to the production process
   
10. 
    Ensure the necessary pre-operation procedures are adhered to in terms of sanitation.
    

Sanitation
Sanitation is a crucial element of modern commercial halal production. In principle, most situations of contamination can be rectified with proper sanitation. It is important to note that sanitation requirements in the context of halal can differ from general GMP requirements.
Companies should maintain the following halal sanitation requirements:

1. 
   Maintain a Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP) for halal compliance.
   
2. 
   If a production line is shared between halal and haram (contaminant) products, a thorough sanitation protocol must be followed before halal production may be started.
   
3. 
   The sanitation protocol must be validated by residual testing, such as ATP testing for microbial residuals or DNA testing.
   
4. 
   Sanitation logs should be maintained for every production run.
   
5. 
   If the halal program dictates specific requirements for sanitation, all production staff must be aware of the requirements.
   
6. 
   The sanitation procedure must eliminate any residual fat, smell, color, and taste from prior production runs.
   
7. 
   AHF must approve material changes to the SSOP.
   
8. 
   Sanitation agents should be free from any haram animal-based materials. Note that non-ethanol forms of alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol and methanol, are not considered haram in terms of sanitation.
   

Warehousing & Logistics
A critical component to ensuring the integrity of halal products is ensuring that the product is not contaminated during the storage and handling of halal products and materials. Contamination at this stage could render the product contaminated and thus a further risk of contamination for all the other products in the warehouse or being handled.
The general requirements to maintain halal-compliant warehousing & logistics are:

1. 
   The handling of materials (moving in and out) in the warehouse should be well recorded.
   
2. 
   If non-halal contaminants are present in the storage facility, clear demarcations and signage should be implemented to avoid any risk of contamination.
   
3. 
   The workflow of bringing products in and out of storage should be conducted in a manner that avoids any cross-contamination.
   
4. 
   The name of materials, code of materials, producer, name, and location of the factory must conform to those disclosed in the list of raw materials approved by AHF.
   
5. 
   If a halal certificate mentions a special logo, it must be shown on the packaging of the materials.
   
6. 
   Materials with halal certificates issued per shipment (such as gelatin) should be accompanied by documents stating the lot number, shipment weight, production date, and expiry date that corroborate with the information listed in the halal batch certificate.
   
7. 
   Temperature and humidity logs should be maintained
   
8. 
   Products should be packaged in a manner that prevents contamination by contact with exposed surfaces
   
9. 
   Trucks utilized for transportation should have a recorded sanitation procedure completed before pickup if carrying non-halal materials previously.
   
10. 
    If railroad transportation is utilized to transport halal materials, the specific containers/tanks should be documented, and the relevant sanitation documentation should be maintained.
    

Documentation
Proper documentation should be maintained to ensure the entire process’s transparency, traceability, and integrity.
Specifically, companies should maintain the following documentation:

1. 
   Updates halal certificates from suppliers
   
2. 
   Halal suitability statements from suppliers
   
3. 
   All bills of lading
   
4. 
   All raw material receiving documentation
   
5. 
   Sanitation protocol validation documents
   
6. 
   All SOPs with documentation of any changes
   
7. 
   Training documents and certifications
   
8. 
   Invoices for purchase of halal raw materials
   
9. 
   Safety data sheets
   
10. 
    Certificates of Analysis (COAs) for each lot of halal products
    
11. 
    Product labels
    
12. 
    Product laboratory testing results including DNA testing, microbiological testing, analytical chemistry testing, and nutrient analysis
    
13. 
    Legal naming information, including DBAs
    
14. 
    Production flowcharts with any documented changes
    
15. 
    Floor maps, including the traffic flows
    
16. 
    List of all equipment in the facility
    
17. 
    Internal Halal Committee: A minimum of 2 individuals are responsible for maintaining the halal program
    

Labeling
Labeling is an integral part of messaging the information and claims of a product. In the context of halal, the requirements aim to ensure consumer transparency to build and maintain consumer confidence. Click to review the