São Paulo – Muslim World League representative to Brazil, ambassador Talat Al-Muslemani, visited the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo this Wednesday (8), where he was welcomed by International Relations vice president and ambassador Osmar Chohfi, board members Mohamed Abdouni and Mustafa Abdouni, and special projects adviser Tamer Mansour.
An international religious organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the League works to spread awareness of Islam. Al-Muslemani arrived recently in Brazil to assume his post. He told ANBA his assignments will include coordinating the Islamic center and mosque the League maintains in Brasília, as well as overseeing halal certification processes across the country, especially those relating to meat exports to Saudi Arabia.
The word halal means an item has been made in accordance with Muslim tradition and are therefore permissible to followers of the religion. Brazil is one of the leading halal food exporting countries in the world.
“The Arab Chamber is tasked with legalizing (certifying) [export] papers, so it is an entity we must be in touch and cooperate with,” said Al-Muslemani. Although the Chamber does not issue halal certificates per se, it does verify the authenticity of said certificates, and whether their issuing body is accredited in the destination country at hand. This is one of 26 items the Arab Chamber checks for in export papers brought in by exporting businesses.
The verification of the halal manufacturing process itself – the slaughter, in the case of meats – is carried out by designated certifiers.
Ambassador Osmar Chohfi said the Arab Chamber is at Al-Muslemani’s avail to arrange meetings with Brazilian exporters, industry-specific organizations – especially in the meat industry – and Brazilian authorities for discussions on halal procedures.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
