Halal technical expert from UUM, Dr. Risyawati Mohamed Ismail, demonstrated her utmost commitment in helping a beverage company in Kinberg, Austria obtain the halal status.
According to her, UUM being a university with a wide range of expertise has managed to attracted many parties including foreign companies interested in collaborating on various projects.
“One of the expertise that UUM is most recognised for, is technical expertise in the area of developing halal facilities and certification that is realized through cooperation under the ASEA UNINET programme managed by the Centre of International Affairs and Cooperation (CIAC) and myself,” she said.
According to her who is also the Director of the Food Security, Innovation and Development Research Centre (FInDER) from the School of Technology Management and Logistics (STML), the said collaboration involved the development of a halal-based plant there.
In the partnership, she upgraded the Knorr-Kohlhofer KG company to meet the halal specifications in accordance with international standards. The whole process took a week.
Throughout the process, Dr Risyawati established the halal manufacturing and operation systems at the existing Knorr-Kohlhofer KG facility. She also provided intensive training and monitored the product manufacturing operations to ensure that the company adheres to the Halal Assurance System (HAS), which is a mandatory requirement for halal certification.
The Knorr-Kohlhofer Company is a company that produces high quality Austrian native honey based beverage and their products have been marketed in supermarkets around Austria.
To obtain halal certification, companies in Austria must undergo a rigorous halal certification process and pass certification audit from the Islamic Information Documentation and Certification (IIDC), a Certification Body (CB) recognized by JAKIM, Malaysia.
In addition, the company must also meet very high European food safety specifications.
As a result of the audit by the IIDC, the Knorr-Kohlhofer Company received the halal certificate on 27 December.
Meanwhile, the Director of CIAC, Assoc. Prof Dr Mohamad Farizal Rajemi expressed his elation when the collaboration was successfully implemented.
He also expressed hope that more outsiders, especially those from universities, agencies and international companies would seek the services of specialists and experts from the UUM academic members of staff.
In addition to managing UUM international students, CIAC has also successfully promoted UUM globally through collaboration with various parties.