A file photo of participants in the last WHC conference in Jakarta in 2004.

By Fatima Asmal, IOL Correspondent

JOHANSBURG, September 13, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The World Halal Council (WHC) and representatives of forty halal certification bodies from 24 different world countries have agreed to form special committees of Muslim scholars and experts to discuss thorny issues like gelatine and food flavourings to adopt universal certification standards.

"These committees will have to now meet and discuss these issues and get input from a broad spectrum of scholars before submitting letters of their findings to the WHC in March 2006," Dr Muhammad Sadek , the WHC's secretary general, told IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, September 13.

He recognized that certification bodies follow different Islamic rulings regarding gelatine and food flavourings.

"If necessary, we’ll then mention in our standards that the majority accept gelatine from animals slaughtered in the halal manner, and that some accept gelatine from animals not slaughtered in this manner."

The decision was taken at the conclusion of a two-day WHC conference held in Cape Town , South Africa .

The meeting was hosted by the three South African members of the WHC, namely, the Muslim Judicial Council Halal Trust, the South African National Halal Authority and the National Independent Halal Trust.

Delegates representing Halal Australia, the Fiji Muslim League, the Halal Monitoring Committee UK , the Federation of Muslim Association in Brazil , the Halal Feed and Food Inspection Authority in Holland , the Japan Muslim Association, the Malawi Halal Department, the Botswana Muslim Association, Zambian Halal Certifiers and the Islamic Halal Council of Zimbabwe were amongst those in attendance.

Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.

Successful

Sadek described this year’s conference as the most successful in the council’s history.

"The conference was very productive," he said.

"For the first time in four or five years we managed to achieve certain important resolutions regarding various issues, like WHC membership, as well as the adoption of a constitution and the setting of global halal standards."

Issues pertaining to the membership were discussed in detail, said Sadek, adding that it was decided that the WHC would try its best to ensure that there was wide representation of its members on its executive body.

He said the controversial issue of the meat of animals slaughtered by people of the book had not been discussed.

"We don’t want to discuss any issue which is divisive," he said, adding that if needed the issue could by taken up a specialized committee.

The next WHC conference will take place in Jakarta , Indonesia in 2006.

The WHC was established on December 6,1999, during a halal seminar held in Jakarta in view of the need for all halal certification bodies world wide to work toward uniformity in regulations and standards of halal supervision and certification.

It hopes to overcome differences and variations in the development and expansion of halal regulation and procedures and provide a standard halal certification.

The WHC also strives to protect the Muslim consumer worldwide from deceptive, fraudulent, and misleading halal claims.

Malaysian bi-monthly magazine, The Halal Journal, was launched in February as the first trade and business publication serving the global halal marketplace.

It provides information and updates on the global halal market and covers all aspects of the industry, from food, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology to banking.