One Day Specialized Training workshop on Halal Gelatin organized by Halal Research Council

About Organizer:

Halal Research Council (HRC) is working globally on Halal certifications in order to cater the needs of Halal food and nutrition besides non-food agencies especially in the FMCG sectors with state-of-the-art services of Advisory & consultancy, Halal Certification, Education and Trainings in order to promote Halal industry, with an objective to boost the Halal economy worldwide.

Training Proceedings on Halal Gelatin:

This report covered the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Gelatin and Gelatin Derivatives market in all over the globe. It focused on four primary areas of Gelatin: manufacture methods, product quality standards & technology development, market situation & trend analysis, applications and distribution policy of Halal gelatin. Training was started by the recitation of Holy Quran and then welcomes address to honorable participants and prestigious speakers. Dr. S.M. Ghufran Saeed is expert Food Technologist and currently serving in Department of Agricultural, SGS Pakistan. He involved in teaching, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi during the session 2007 to 2012 (Five years). He also works in HEJ Research Institute as Research Associate. He has sound background of the subject and capable of handling and research study based on food. His Concept in basic sciences is quite clear and well developed that enables him to grasp quickly new ideas and methods. His analytical ability and critical thinking often helps in solving research based problems and to reach the correct findings and conclusions.  Dr. S.M. Ghufran Saeed was invited for the vote of thanks and while addressing to the participants he said, Gelatins across the globe has an increasing demand and almost it is manufactured in all the continents. Scientifically gelatin is a form of protein which is derived from collagen which is found in all vertebrate animals in their bones and skin. Gelatin is not occurs in free form, it has to be derived from a source containing collagen. Gelatin is used in various industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, medical, cosmetics, technical and others. The properties of gelatin like its odorless tasteless, reacting with acids and acting as base makes it more suitable to use in food industry. The annual Gelatin production across the globe is 330 metric tons in which 40% is alone consumed in Europe. Considering the changing food habits, development in medical, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic industry the requirement of gelatin is increasing thus stimulating the global gelatin market. Thereafter, it was the official start of the training and Dr. S.M. Ghufran Saeed started the first session with the following topics. Introduction of Halal industry where he discussed emerging concept of Halal food in Halal industry, Introduction of Global Halal market, Islamic Guidelines For Food And Drink, Halal Practices In The Food Industry, Critical Halal Issues In The Food Industry, Food Label For Halal Foods, Halal Foods And Requirements For Importing Halal Products.

In the next session, He discussed the Kosher & Halal Food Laws and the History and market Value of Gelatin, Introduction of Gelatin, Global view of Gelatin industry, where he said, gelatin world production is round about 3,50,000 M Ton in 2014 and estimated  3,96,000 M in 2017. After that he discussed about the Sources of Gelatin like common sources of collagen for gelatin are pig skin, cattle skin, cattle bones, fish skin, poultry skin. He briefed about the Production & Processing of Halal Gelatin and the Use of Gelatin, Introduction of Gelatin science, composition Of Gelatin and the types of Gelatin and the Chemistry of Gelatin.  He also outlined the challenges faced by gelatin industry. He said, the gelatin industry, over the years, has borne the brunt of negative publicity over the safety of this animal-derived ingredient, and the resulting tightened regulations, and legislative riders governing the use of gelatin in supplements. Supported by new research findings, manufacturers are fast promoting gelatin as safe for human consumption.  In the next Session the topics of discussion were Characterization & Quality Criteria of Gelatin, Physical & Chemical Properties of Gelatin, regulatory requirements, and Standard quality tests of Gelatin.

The Next Session was covered by Mufti Zeeshan Abdul Aziz Senior Shariah Advisor and Halal Scheme Manager, Pakistan. Mufti Zeeshan Abdul Aziz is graduated and specialized from Jamia Dar Ul Uloom Karachi, Pakistan, having Takhassus Fil Ifta (Specialization in Islamic Jurisprudence) majoring in Halal Foods and Islamic Banking & Finance. He is serving as Chairman Shariah Board of Halal Development Foundation, Japan, (HDFJ), Shariah Advisor of SGS Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and has been associated as Member Shariah Board of several Halal Certification bodies of Middle East, Pakistan, Europe and Far East and has performed more than100 Halal Certification audits of different food, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries in different parts of the world. He is also the member of Technical Committee on Halal Foods and Halal Cosmetics Standards, PSQCA (Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority) and member of Halal Accreditation Committee of PNAC (Pakistan National Accreditation Council), Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of Pakistan for accreditation of the Halal Certification bodies and has performed Halal Accreditation Audits as Shariah Expert on behalf of the Accreditation Body. During his lecture, he said Halal and Haram is a sensitive and serious matter and is gaining serious attention globally. Adulteration and contamination of Haram and doubtful ingredients and additives are major concerns in the Halal industry presently and standard methods of analysis need to be developed. Properly processed, verified and certified Halal products (in particular, foods) are pertinent to capture the lucrative Halal market. There exist the urgent need to resolve and harmonize issues on ingredients (gelatin, alcohol, slaughtering) among certification bodies/authorities/government agencies. He covered The Topics of Introduction to Halal Gelatin, What Is Halal, Sources of Gelatin in Islam, Shariah Issues, Shariah Guidelines for Gelatin and Halal Gelatin Vs Non Halal Gelatin, Application & Marketing value of Halal Gelatin, Nutritional Importance Of Gelatin, Uses Of Gelatin In Food Production, Uses Of Gelatin In Non Food Industries, Gelatin Testing By PCR And The Future Prospects. In these topics, he discussed that these days, alcohol is mostly prepared from sources other than completely Haram Liquids/Drinks, therefore all those perfumes in which this Alcohol is used, are Tahir and their external use is permissible and also details of Ingredients made up from Animal Source (and specially Pig source) have already been mentioned before under the permissible and Impermissible animals. Ingredients made up these days from Synthetic Source and Bio-Technology are also permissible if they are not Intoxicant (e.g. does not contain alcohol from impermissible source) and not harmful for health and do not contain any other Haram Substance in them.  He said approximately 90% of all pharmaceutical gelatin produced is processed to capsules and the health care (hygiene and beauty) market is one that has been showing one of the highest growth rates in the world. In 2004, this market was 230.4 billion US$ and has grown about 8% year over the last five years.

In The End of the Training Workshop, Questions and Answer Session related to the following Points was Taken Place. The Training Workshop Was Ended By Certificate Distribution Ceremony. We thankful to our valuable Participants of this training who belong to the prestigious organizations like Fauji fertilizer limited, Bureau certification, Pak gelatin, SGS Pvt Ltd, and the students of university of Karachi without their valuable contribution this training could not become successful. The trainees were quite satisfied by the quality of the knowledge given by the trainers on Halal Gelatin. Over all, training met huge success.