Thailand Halal Assembly 2018

One of the world’s most comprehensive Halalexpositions and conferences

Mr. Anan Suwannarat, Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, recently chaired the opening ceremonyof Thailand Halal Assembly 2018, one of the world’s most comprehensive Halalexpositions and conferences, co-hosted by the Halal Science Center (HSC),Chulalongkorn University, and the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT).

The Thailand Halal Assembly (THA) 2018 washeld from 14-16 December 2018 at BITEC Bangna, comprising two major events: The11th Halal Science, Industry and Business International Conference 2018 (HASIB2018) and Thailand International Halal Expo 2018 (TIHEX 2018), plus anexhibition of Tan Sri Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, with his virtuous perspectives, tohonour the late Dr. Surin Pitsuwan who continually contributed to HSC as anadvisory board member and became a symbol of scientific development associatedwith the centre.

HASIB 2018 focuses Halal science andindustry and business activities around the world. The conferences covercosmeceutical and nutritional products; OMICs approaches for Halalauthentication; Innovative food contact materials in Halal aspects; technologicaledge for Halal products and services; Halal Bioeconomy and digital marketing;and Academic presentation.

Held under the HASIB 2018, the 5th IHSCInternational Halal Standard Convention is a meeting of international Halalstandards and certification bodies. There are various activities such asHarmonising global Halal standards forum; Mutual recognition agreements betweenthe Halal Standard Institute of Thailand & International CertificationBodies; OIC/SMIC Halal standards workshop; and Public hearing for Thailand’snew Halal standards.

TIHEX 2018 comprises 10 zones featuringHalal products and services, including Fashion & Jewellery, Cosmetics &Health, CICOT, Service & Travel, Food & Beverage, SME, HAL-Q,Enterprise, Public agencies and International agencies. There is also a THACaf? corner for business talk, experience exchange and establishment of Halalbusiness partners.

This year, THA was held under the theme“Precision Halalization in the Bioeconomy Era” to promote the use of precisionHalalization and build awareness of Thai entrepreneurs towards Halal FoodCertification (HFC).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Winai Dahlan, Director ofThe Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University, explained the reason behindthe theme “Precision Halalization in the Bioeconomy Era”.

“As agriculture has always been Thailand’sstrength, Bioeconomy should play an important role in the country’s futureeconomic system by integrating technologies which respect the environment andcultural differences, applying precision farming, and bettering human andanimal food production from renewable biological resources. PrecisionHalalization, on the other hand, focuses the integration of standardisation,science, technology and innovation to ensure purification of Halal products.”

“As we are now moving to the Bioeconomyera, we want to encourage Thai entrepreneurs to apply for Halal FoodCertification in order to penetrate the fast-growing global Muslim consumermarket. Regrettably, only 1% of Thai entrepreneurs have seen the importance ofMuslim consumer markets.”

“In the medical area, we have precisionmedicine to offer individual patients customized treatment and healthcare, inthe agricultural area, we have precision agriculture to observe, measure andrespond to inter- and intra-field variability in crops, so in the Halal field,we also have precision Halalization to precisely detect contamination harmfulto Halal food manufacturing to ensure hygienic products being delivered toconsumers’ hands.”

“We have seen Thailand Halal Assembly fairgrowing continually from five years ago around 40-50 booths and 1,500participants to today around 380 booths and 40,000 participants, both domesticand international.”

“Today, we find ways to help boost thecountry’s economy via the use of Halal. Halal gives benefits to non-Muslims asproducers, exporters and distributors because Muslims are only consumers. Now,we can see a large number of non-Muslims participating in the THA fair who areinterested in Halal accreditation.”

“The trend of Halal markets today is nolonger for Muslims only. Many non-Muslim consumers prefer and choose to consumeHalal food due to hygienic principles that make Halal food wholesome andhealthy. Today, the perception of consumers towards Halal foods has been changed.”

“So, we hope that the Thailand HalalAssembly 2018 will encourage Thai entrepreneurs to have their products andservices certified as Halal and gain recognition worldwide.”

Link_https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1597018/thailand-halal-assembly-2018