Halal Principles

Halal Principles and halal requirements

The word “halal” comes from Arabic and can be translated as “permitted, permissible”. Food that conforms to Islamic regulations are summarized under the term “halal” or “halal food”. 

• The Arabic term “haram” is the opposite of halal and means forbidden. Food that does not comply with Islamic regulations fall under the term “haram”. 
• Between halal and haram lies the category “makruh”, i. e. frowned upon, but should be avoided. In general, all foods are allowed, except those that have been expressly or clearly prohibited. 
• For the use of the term “Muslim”, the guidelines include after the fatwa of the Islamic World League in Mecca in April 1974, according to which only Sunnis and Shiites are recognized as Muslims here. 

The standards that the ICA Halal Certification body put in place are there to ensure that HALAL items destined for certification adhere to the necessary obligatory schemes and applicable Standards.
The steps that ICA Clients (Manufacturers, Traders, Importers, Retailers, Business Owners, or any other client) take to get their products certified before they are sold in Islamic markets. These steps include obtaining HALAL certificates (Conformity Certificates) in accordance with GAC/SMIIC Regulations.

Standards according to ICA Halal Certification works

• ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity Assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying Products, Processes and services.
  
• ISO/IEC 17021, Conformity Assessment — Requirements for bodies Providing audit and Certification of management systems.
  
• UAE. GSO 2055-2 Halal products- Part two: General Requirements for Halal Certification Bodies.
  
• OIC_Guidelines for Bodies Providing Halal Certification
  
• OIC_General Guidelines on Halal Food
  
• GAC Document: FAD- 4.0: Supplementary accreditation requirements for Product Certification Bodies.
  
• GAC document: FAD-12: Supplementary accreditation requirements for Halal Certification Bodies, in addition to applicable scheme and Standards
  
• R105: Requirements when making reference to A2LA Accredited Status
  
• R307: General Requirements Accreditation of ISO /IEC 17065 Product Certification Bodies
  
• R334: Specific Requirements: HALAL Certification Body Program.
  
• IAF Mandatory Document: Determination of Audit Time of Quality and Environmental Management System.
  
• ISO/IEC 17000, Conformity Assessment — Vocabulary and general principles.
  
• ISO/IEC 17020, Conformity Assessment— Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection.
  
• ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
  
• ISO17067, in combination with ISO Guide 28 and ISO Guide 53
  
• ISO/IEC 17030, Conformity Assessment — General requirements for third-party marks of conformity.
  
• ISO Guide 23:1982 Methods of indicating conformity with Standards for third-Party certification Systems
  
• ISO Guide 27:1983 Guidelines for corrective action to be taken by a certification body in the event of misuse of its mark of conformity
  
• General Requirements for Notified Bodies issued by Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (GSO).
  

Abbreveations:

• GSO: GCC Authority for Standardization and Metrology
• GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council
  
• SASO: Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization
  
• SMIIC: The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries
  
• ICA: Islamic Centre Aachen – Quality Certificates issuing Services
  
• Scheme: Certification system related to specified products, to which the same specified requirements, specific rules and procedures apply.
  
• Certification: Third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons.
  
• Conformity Certificate: Formal document issued by ICA as Certification body Seeking approval of Accreditation bodies stating that certification is being granted for the product/process in accordance with applicable scheme/standards as per Accreditation Requirements.