Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009
Halal Ads Hit French TV
By Bruce Crumley / Paris



A pack of shoppers swarm supermarket shelves, cheerfully snapping up packages of prepared lasagna, ravioli and paella as they sing the products' praises. Sounds just like a normal evening TV ad. And it is, only this one features ethnic-Arab actors in a commercial for halal food in France. A first in its own right, the ad is already a remarkable sight on French TV. But even more surprising is the reaction it's gotten — or, rather, hasn't gotten. In a country that's usually quick to burst into outrage over the spread of Islam into secular society, these halal-food ads have been playing without a peep from the public.

The ad campaign by Panzani-owned, Lyon-based food brand Zakia Halal is the first ever mass-market promotion of halal food to France's estimated 5 million Muslims. The TV spots kicked off on Aug. 17 to coincide with the start of the holy month of Ramadan and have been running on most of France's largest television channels since. The $430,000 campaign will be put on pause Sept. 2, then resumed as Ramadan comes to an end later this month and the feast of Eid el-Fitr approaches. Thus far, the spots have gotten a mostly supportive reaction from Muslim shoppers and the French media, with the daily Le Parisien trumpeting "Halal Takes a Spot on TV." (See pictures marking the end of Ramadan.)

What's astounding is how long it took for any of France's numerous makers of halal food products to embrace this kind of mass marketing. Studies done by ethnic-marketing consultancy Solis Conseil in Paris estimate that French Muslims currently purchase about $5.7 billion worth of specialized foodstuffs and related products — a market that's been increasing nearly 15% annually for almost a decade. Solis has also found that nearly 94% of all Muslims in France with North African roots — by far the largest group of Muslims in the country — buy exclusively halal food. A recent poll by the Ifop agency found that 70% of Muslims in France are observing Ramadan this year — leaving little doubt as to the thinking behind the timing of Zakia Halal's groundbreaking ad campaign. (Read "Soccer Star Benched for Fasting During Ramadan.")

"Even though people have to fast during the day, Muslims tend to eat more — and better — when they can eat during Ramadan, which is why it is traditionally a period of peak consumer activity," explains Abbas Bendali, director of Solis Conseil. "Zakia's timing makes good sense because people tend to be short on time during Ramadan and will use prepared dishes along with fresh food for meals. And when you consider the size and value of this demographic, using mass-market methods to promote halal products becomes logical too."

But it's also potentially inflammatory, given the tendency of the French to view overt manifestations of Islamic faith as a threat to the nation's tradition of secularity. After all, France is the nation that felt obliged to protect itself against the supposed spread of Islam by passing a 2004 law prohibiting students from wearing religious symbols in public schools — a measure primarily aimed at Islamic headscarves. Earlier this year, legislators demanded a legal ban on burqas, a form of apparel that President Nicolas Sarkozy damned as "not welcome on French territory." That legal prohibition was regarded as overkill, however, when a police intelligence study estimated that fewer than 370 women in the nation of 65 million people actually wear the complete head, face and body covering.

Even so, the French media worked themselves into a lather in July when one woman demanded the right to swim in a burqini — a one-piece that resembles a wet suit — in a public pool that denied her entrance. Given that, it's little wonder that the approval — or disinterest — that the French public has shown the Zakia Halal ads has been a source of contentment and relief to many French Muslims. (Read "Halal: Buying Muslim.")

"So much negativity has recently been attached to so-called Muslim topics that there's a certain satisfaction that ads for halal products are being greeted as normal," Bendali says. "After so many years of being ordered to integrate into French society and culture, Muslims are interpreting the reaction to these ads as a sign that integration may finally be working in both directions. It appears the rest of France is starting to regard things like halal food as part of the new mix."

In fact, it has been for quite a while — though marketers and distributors have tended to keep quiet about it. For most of the past decade, France's main supermarket chains have carried halal food to keep up with demand from consumers. That has increased so much that those supermarkets have recently launched their own halal brands to rival those of food groups — and are beginning to display them in dedicated halal sections as they have kosher food for years. (See pictures of a personal view of Muslim modernity.)

Still, don't expect to see the shelves stocked with Western versions of traditional North African fare, like microwaveable couscous or ready-made tagine. Those are things French Muslims still prefer to make themselves. Instead, what they're snapping up are more exotic dishes like lasagna, beef Bourguignonne and hachis Parmentier — à la halal bien sûr.


Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1919816,00.html

Kyodo News

Kyoto University will start providing food permissible under Islamic law at the school's cafeteria to meet the needs of the increasing number of Muslim students on campus.

The cafeteria will introduce a halal food corner from Tuesday, avoiding pork and seasonings of pork origin, which Muslims are banned from eating. The new menus include chicken and croquettes made of broad beans, it said.

More than 1,000 Muslims live in the city of Kyoto, and many are Kyoto University students and their families.

The rare introduction is aimed at supporting such Muslim students, whose population is expected to rise under the university's plans to accept more foreign students.

While the co-op said it had problems in arranging a cooking environment to avoid mixing pork and related seasonings with halal food, it solved the issue by preparing the food at different hours.

[Source]

By Mallick Mnela, IOL Correspondent




Many non-Muslims have developed trust in halal food-stuffs for safety guarantees. (IOL photo)


BLANTYRE — Non-Muslims in the Southern African country of Malawi have developed trust in halal food-stuffs as meat products that are certified by the national halal body comply with strict veterinary requirements.
"It’s much safer eating halal certified meat products. At least you are assured that they can not just grab a sick animal for slaughter," Clement Chinoko, a Protestant based in Malawi’s commercial capital Blantyre, told IslamOnline.net.

Chinoko has trust in halal-certified butchery outlets because, he said, they abide by veterinary requirements.

In most localities across the country, committees are being established at mosques to oversee the proper slaughtering of animals.

These committees work in collaboration with local leaders to ensure that compliance is observed by business persons engaged in the food business.

"The good thing is that even non-Muslim consumers are now aware of the need to buy from halal outlets," said Maulana Lehman.

"Most of them agree that meat products purchased from halal certified outlets are safer because most of them also comply with the Veterinary requirements."

The concept of halal, -- meaning permissible in Arabic -- has traditionally been applied to food.

Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.

Now other goods and services can also be certified as halal, including cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

Community Ties

Cornelius Kachenjera, a non-Muslim who was born and raised in the Muslim predominant area of Chiradzulu, a few kilometers away from Blantyre, also prefers consuming halal meat products.

"Besides being assured of maximum safety from diseases, I’ve resorted to consuming halal meat products because most of my relatives are Muslims," he said.

"I don’t want to jeopardize their beliefs by giving them unacceptable foods in their faith."

Kachenjera is not the only Christian sensitive to the needs of Muslims.

"Some non-Muslims feel guilty when Muslim friends refuse to eat at their homes, so they have to buy halal foods from the right shops or have the animals slaughtered the right way," said Lehman.

Government figures suggest Muslims make up 12 percent of Malawi's 12 million people while the umbrella Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) puts the percentage at 36 of the population.

Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity.

Close Monitoring




In most localities across the country, committees are being established at mosques to oversee the proper slaughtering of animals. (IOL photo)

MAM's Halal Department is keeping an open eye to ensure that Muslims are not consuming food stuffs from restaurants, butcheries and retail outlets that are not halal certified.
"We are taking drastic measures possible to ensure that Muslims are not eating non-halal food stuffs because of some unscrupulous tendencies among business people," Sheikh Saleem Chikwatu, Halal Department National Coordinator, told IOL.

"While some sincere businesspersons have taken up the task of providing halal consumables, others see the high demand of these food-stuffs as an opportunity to increase their cash-flow and profits.

"They just source cheap non-halal stuff elsewhere and sell it off to unsuspecting Muslims providing them with false assurance that it's halal," Sheikh Chikwatu said.

The Halal Department operations include certification, supervision, inspection and public sensitization.

Sheikh Chikwatu said they have certified numerous poultry and beef abattoirs and more than 50 outlets, among them meat processors and restaurants.

"We've also employed some Muslim supervisors to work in abattoirs, meat processors and restaurants. They are supposed to monitor from the slaughtering stage to the point of sell. We do this to ensure that Islamic standards are met."

Trademark

The Halal Department has registered the terms "Halaal" and "Halal" as their registered trademarks to deter abuse by business people.

"These two words are Islamic religious words which are used to describe food items as permissible for Muslim consumption.

"We therefore decided to register them as trademark and ensure that they are only used under the strictest conformity of the Islamic law," it said in a statement published in Malawi's newspapers.

The Halal regulating body is mandated by the Ulama Council of Malawi and other Islamic organizations in the country to regulate the use of these words in line with Shari`ah.

Yet, some business people have illegally used the registered trademarks to attract customers.

"We've always advised our Muslim congregations to watch out for regulators' logo and a Halal certificate that's supposed to be displayed on the wall," Sheikh Chikwatu said.

The Halal Department has intensified its campaign in blacklisting non-halal items, outlets and manufacturers.

Islamonline.net

IslamOnline.net & Newspapers



In Xinjiang, food products are certified by a local Islamic Council which includes imams trained to make sure the products adhere to halal standards. (Google)
CAIRO — While China is still suffering from a tainted milk scandal, Muslims in the northwest Xinjiang province feel confident their dairy products are safe, thanks to their halal standards.

"Halal food is traditional," Hui Li Huang, manager of Urumqi Arman halal food store, told the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, November 7.

"There are few additives to the food during the processing, so it's safer."

China, the world's most populous country, has been hit by its worst tainted milk scandal in modern history.

At least four babies died of kidney failure and 53,000 children fell sick after drinking milk contaminated by industrial chemical melamine, which was added to make the milk appear richer in protein.

The scandal led to massive recalls of Chinese food products containing milk at home and abroad.

But the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province was safe from the contaminated milk because of the halal food standards.

"The dairy industry is regulated by both religious and government institutions," said Wei Sheng Wang, director of the government's Xinjiang trade commission.

In Xinjiang, food products have to be certified by a local Islamic Council which includes imams trained to make sure the products adhere to halal standards.

The council members and government inspectors regularly visit processing factories to ensure the food safety.

"We don't have contamination at the moment," said Wei.

The concept of halal -- meaning permissible in Arabic -- has traditionally been applied to food.

Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.

Now other goods and services can also be certified as halal, including cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

Flourishing

Most dairy products in Xinjiang are produced in the province to be used by the customers.

"Other provinces lost control of the milk supply because they had to get their product from middlemen," said Dan Feng Zhang, general manager of the province's largest milk company, Gary Dairy.

"Here in Xinjiang, the enterprises themselves own the dairy farms and follow strict standards, customs and habits of local Muslims."

The halal food standards have increased confidence in the Xinjiang food products, earning it the name of "China's New Zealand", a reference to that nation's small area but large food export capacity.

For example, Ihlas candy factory on the outskirts of Urumqi, have increased candies and snack pastries exports to Turkey and is planning to expand its markets to other Muslim countries.

Halal meat companies also export its products to neighboring countries with sizable Muslim populations, such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Xinjiang also exports halal products to Mongolia, Japan and Malaysia.

The northwest Xinjiang province has been autonomous since 1955 but continues to be the subject of crackdowns by Chinese authorities.

Beijing views Xinjiang as an invaluable asset because of its crucial strategic location near Central Asia and its large oil and gas reserves.

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