Authors : Arif Sazelin, Sidek Safiah and Hassan Muhammad Haziq
Abstract: The high demand for halal products has led many food manufacturers to seek for halal certification in Malaysia. However, prior to receiving the halal certification, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) imposes that multinational manufacturers to implement the Internal Halal Assurance System (IHAS). However, this rule has yet to be made compulsory for the medium and small scale operators, including the operators of food premise who wish to apply for the certificate. Although, there have been a number of medium and small sized food operators implement the IHAS, there are still a lot of evidences that the operators of food premise who take an indifferent attitude and not serious in complying with the IHAS. Further, the guidelines provided by JAKIM are found to be too general and do not provide clear guidance for the food operators to comply with the IHAS systen. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and describe the controlled elements in IHAS that can be used as a guidance for the food operators at the food premises. Based on document analysis of the relevant standard documents, four important controlled elements in the IHAS have been identified and described. The four controlled elements are the halal critical points, cleanliness and hygiene, documentation system and internal halal committee. The results of this study provides valuable guidance for the halal executives working at food premise to implement IHAS. Further, the compliance of IHAS can ease the process of securing halal food certification from JAIM in Malaysia.
Arif Sazelin, Sidek Safiah and Hassan Muhammad Haziq, 2016. Controlled Elements of Internal Halal Assurance System at Food Premises. International Business Management, 10: 3692-3699.