The Islamic Development Department Malaysia (JAKIM) has received 15,605 applications for the Malaysian Halal Certification (SPHM) in 2023, representing a 4% increase compared to 2022.
However, only 8,509 or slightly more than half (54.5%) of all applications were approved and they included an approximate of 132,106 products.
According to Datuk Hakimah, Director General of JAKIM, “Halal-certified products include food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, consumables and medical devices.”
JAKIM will give its full commitment to ensure the management of SPHM is at the best level with various initiatives planned and designed to empower Malaysia’s halal certification at the global level.
In a related development, JAKIM is also reported to be developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to simplify the approval for halal certificate applications. According to JAKIM’s Halal Management Division Director, Mohamad Zamri Mohamed Shapik, the technology is expected to help JAKIM in analysing ingredients in food products. He said that the most complicated aspect of approving a halal certificate application involves checking the ingredients in a product. “For example, in the application for halal food certification in hotels, there are hundreds of menus that we need to check and there are thousands of ingredients. If we do it manually, it requires a lot of time and effort. Using AI will expedite the approval process.”
Based on the State of Global Islamic Economy 2023 report issued by Dinar Standards, Malaysia ranked first for the halal food sector in the Global Islamic Economy Indicator 2023. Malaysia also retained this leading position out of 81 other countries for the 10th consecutive year.
