São Paulo – Food company Nestlé Brazil has just obtained Halal certification for its milk cream. Thus, the product becomes fit for consumption by Muslims, and therefore easier to sell in countries with strong Muslim presence, including Arab ones. The next product to receive the Halal seal should be the company’s soluble coffee Nescafé.
Further on, other products should be included in the certification process, which should take place in phases. “The industrial sector involves food security, therefore all of the inputs that comprise the product must be investigated,” explains Dib Ahmad Al Tarrass, the development manager of the industrial Halal segment at the Brazilian Muslim Halal Food Centre (Cibal Halal), which certified the milk cream.
Cibal is the operational arm of the Federation of Brazilian Muslim Associations (Fambras). For Tarrass, the fact that Nestlé Brazil ranks among companies that offer Halal-certified products “strengthens the commercial marketing for the company to be able to stand out in the foreign market.”
He claims that he does not know what will be the company’s next steps after certifying the products mentioned, but says that “the entire Nestlé line should be certified within roughly two years.” The multinational company did not provide further information on the matter, it only confirmed the certification.
The Halal label indicates that the product has been manufactured in keeping with Muslim law. In the case of industrial products, the certification shows that its components do not include inputs considered unfit for Muslim consumption, such as substances extracted from pigs, for instance.
In Brazil, certification is sought by many slaughterhouses that export beef and poultry, so that animal slaughter will follow the rules of Muslim religion, a key requirement for selling on the Muslim market.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
