The official logo that will be carried by
products that are certified halal.Supplied
A halal certification created by the
Cambodian government is now available for companies that produce or sell food
items in the kingdom.
“Now we have our own halal logo which we
have been developing for about 8 years. We call on companies to apply for this
label to help promote it in Cambodian and abroad,” said Mao Thora, Secretary of
State for the Ministry of Commerce.
Mr Thora was speaking at a workshop on
overseeing and standarising halal certifications for Cambodian restaurants and
butchers.
“Having our own halal logo means that
companies will no longer need to use halal certifications from other countries
for their products,” he said.
Applications will be handled by the
secretariat of the Cambodian halal logo steering committee in conjunction with
a technical team, who will evaluate each product to check if they meet the
required standards.
“For the time being, we are mainly focusing
on restaurants and some export products,” Mr Thora said.
“We want our halal label to be recognised
all over the world to attract Muslim tourists to Cambodia.”
Sim Mohddaud, member of the Highest Council
for Islamic Religious Affairs of Cambodia, said that the new label will lure
more Muslim tourists into the country, while increasing exports of halal
products.
“We trust this halal logo as it was
established by the Highest Council for Islamic Religious Affairs and the
Ministry of Commerce. It will build trust for our products among Muslims and
non-Muslims,” Mr Mohddaud said.
“Now we have many restaurants that claim to
be halal, owned by both Muslims and non-Muslims, but to be trusted, they will
now have to secure the halal label from the ministry.”
Ly Ly Food Industry is the only company to
have obtained the certification thus far. The company also uses a Vietnamese
version of the label.
Keo Mom, CEO of Ly Ly Food Industry, said
now that a local halal label is available, she will ditch the Vietnamese halal
certification.
“Our sales have increased after securing
this second halal certification because we can send our products to Muslim
countries,” she said.
However, Mr Mom explained that the new
label is unknown at an international level, which presents a significant
impediment for those hoping to export their products. She said the government
must now strive to make the Cambodian halal certification popular beyond the
country’s borders.
Mr Thora agrees, “From now on, we must
promote our halal logo globally. To build credibility in our label, we must
work to make sure our halal tests are very strict.”