FOLLOWING the passage of Republic Act 10817, or the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016, the country will have an opportunity to be part of the $2.6 trillion halal industries worldwide, which is estimated to rise by $10 trillion in 2030.
With this bright prospect, the local halal food manufacturers, processors, and even entrepreneurs based in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will now have the opportunity to develop their existing halal food products.
This became possible thru the establishment of the region’s first Halal-certified Food Innovation Center (FIC) which was recently launched by the Department of Science and Technology-Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (DOST-ARMM) in Lamitan City, Basilan.
With the presence of a halal-certified FIC in the city, entrepreneurs can have access to food experts and locally-developed technologies by the DOST.
Some of the equipment housed at the halal-certified FIC include the spray dryer, water retort, vacuum fryer, freeze dryer, vacuum packaging machine, can sealer, and cabinet dryer.
The newly-established Halal FIC could bring various significant impacts to the province of Basilan as well as in the entire ARMM.
Among the concerns of the local halal food processors in Basilan and other areas in the ARMM is that they do not have facilities which are GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliant, thus, they cannot be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FIC could play an integral role to enhance the quality of all halal food products in the island provinces of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu, and compete with the products of our neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Brunei.
With the FIC, it could make most of halal food products in the ARMM, such as delicacies and condiments which can be attractive in the world market.
The locally-developed equipment at the FIC like freeze dryer and spray dryer could help in maintaining the moisture content and shelf-life of the halal products.
The FIC in Lamitan City, Basilan, is also expected to open its door to the local students and professionals who would like to conduct research and develop other halal food products using various existing raw materials in the region.
Currently, it is the third halal-certified FIC in the country, following those established in Davao and Soccsksargen.
Science and technology plays a big role in the technologies, laboratories, and facilities used by the industry, especially during production, testing, and certification of halal products.
The establishment of the halal FIC is a collaborative effort of the DOST-ARMM, DOST-Industrial Technology Development Institute, Mindanao Autonomous College Foundation, Inc., Chamber Commerce for ARMM, and local government unit of Lamitan.
Halal is an Arabic word that means lawful or permitted and its opposite is haram, which means unlawful or prohibited.
While many things are clearly halal or haram, some things must be clearly explained to non-Muslims.
Currently, halal is not only for the Muslims, but is also becoming a healthy choice for non-Muslims.
The increasing demand for halal foods has pushed halal as a driver for socio-economic growth. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
