KUALA LUMPUR —More Japanese companies are aiming to sell food products that are compliant with Islamic rules in a bid to carve a slice of the fast growing and lucrative Muslim consumer market.

A rising number of Japanese food manufacturers are seeking halal certification for their products from Malaysia and setting up factories in the country to produce halal food while some have also started to request for their plants in Japan to be certified.

Halal generally refers to food which is permissible for Muslims, meaning it does not contain anything derived from the pig, which Muslims are forbidden to consume, and that animals such as cattle and poultry have been slaughtered according to Islamic rites. These days however, the halal certification also extends to toiletries and cosmetics, and even to the provision of logistical services such as the storage and transportation of food.

Malaysia has been aggressively promoting itself as a global halal hub in recent years while the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, better known as JAKIM, is now the world’s biggest governmental issuer of halal certifications.

The big international consumer brands such as Nestle, Unilever and Danone have long obtained Malaysia’s halal mark from JAKIM. The agency has so far certified more than 173,000 halal products, including food, services, cosmetic, healthcare products and logistics services, and there are about 2,273 companies operating in Malaysia, which are involved in these halal business activities.

However, Japanese companies have been slow to tap the halal market, which has so far attracted mainly the big Japanese brands that cater to the global market, such as seasoning maker Ajinomoto, drinks maker Pokka and yoghurt drink maker Yakult.

But that seems to be changing now with the rising demand for halal food, resulting in a surge of interest from other Japanese companies.

‘‘In the past Japanese companies did not see any strong need to get involved with the halal industry because their domestic market did not require halal status,’’ said Jamil Bidin, chief executive officer of Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corp. ‘‘Recently Japanese companies have felt the need to do so after they decided to expand their market to Islamic countries such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.’‘

He said more Japanese companies are showing interest in halal production with more than 300 firms attending its seminars in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka last year while seven companies have visited its office to make enquiries so far this year compared with five last year.

Saifol Bahli, HDC’s head of training and consultancy, said that more Japanese companies started to show interest in halal since around 2009, when Japanese mayonnaise maker Kewpie Corp set up a manufacturing plant in one of Malaysia’s halal industrial parks.

About 10 Japanese companies are now in the process of applying for halal certifications, he said. They include a major Japanese logistics company which would like its international food transportation network to be certified and also a Japanese supermarket chain in Malaysia which would like to be certified halal. In addition a Japanese food enzyme maker has also applied for its plant in Japan to be certified.

Saifol said it should be easy for Japanese companies to adopt the certification because Japanese products are already well known for their high quality and standard, which fits well with the certification’s demand for a high standard of cleanliness and safety.

In fact one of the appeals of the halal mark these days is that it also has a positive image among non-Muslim consumers.

The Malaysian government is eager to attract more Japanese companies to invest in the 21 halal parks that have been set up by the government or the private sector in the country to produce halal food, toiletries and cosmetics.

HDC has been working closely with the Japan External Trade Organization to organize seminars to promote halal production among Japanese companies.

Obtaining halal certification is a process that could take six months to one year, or even three years for bigger companies. The premise has to be inspected, ritually cleansed if it had produced non-halal food before, the list of ingredients used has to be audited, and the company has to employ at least two Muslim workers in their production operation.

Several factors have hindered Japanese food manufacturers from going halal in the past. These include Japanese companies being reluctant to have dedicated halal production lines unless there is a very big market to justify changing their business model. Another factor is the difficulty of getting halal ingredients for manufacturing and concern that the import of halal ingredients will further raise the already sky-high business costs in Japan. Another drawback has been the perceived difficulty of finding Muslim workers in Japan.

‘‘The best way…is for Japanese companies to be open to collaborations or strategic alliances with big Islamic companies so as to change their perceptions and as a catalyst for the start of a halal industry in Japan,’’ Jamil said.

Currently the global halal market is valued at about $2.1 trillion per annum, with an estimated 1.8 billion Muslims in the world.

The halal method of killing requires that the animal be killed by a Muslim, using a method whereby the animal’s throat is cut swiftly with a sharp knife to fully sever the two main arteries, windpipe and the esophagus. Besides swift death, it also ensures that blood flows out of the animal, as Muslims believe blood harbors and breeds bacteria and is not good for human consumption, according to a religious official at JAKIM.

Source:http://japantoday.com/category/lifest ... oving-to-tap-halal-market

LONDON (AFP) - – Alcohol is more harmful than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, a new study by British researchers said Monday.

Scientists looked at the dangers to both the individual and to wider society and found that alcohol was the most dangerous substance, according to the study by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD).

The results fly in the face of long-held opinions about which drugs pose the greatest dangers, with the authors claiming they demonstrate "the present drug classification systems have little relation to the evidence of harm."

"They also accord with the conclusions of previous expert reports that aggressively targeting alcohol... is a valid and necessary public health strategy," said the authors.

Drug experts on the committee devised their own system to judge substances and believe their consensus provides a valuable assessment which could guide policymakers.

The research, published in medical journal The Lancet, looked at the how much a drug harms the human body as well as other factors such as what its use costs the health care and prison systems.

Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine -- or crystal meth -- were found to be the most deadly. But when the wider social effects were factored in, alcohol was the most dangerous, followed by heroin and crack cocaine, said the study.

Substances were given a mark from zero to 100 based on certain criteria, with alcohol scoring 72 overall followed by 55 for heroin and 54 for crack.

One of the study's authors was David Nutt, a former British government drugs adviser during the previous Labour administration.

He was sacked after a disagreement with the government over the decision to upgrade the classification of cannabis.

The ISCD says its remit is to investigate and review scientific evidence relating to drugs, free from political concerns.


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Tokyo, Apr 5, 2010 - (JCN Newswire) - Tanaka Precious Metals is pleased to annunce it will be supplying companies in Japan and overseas centered on the Islamic world with two "Easy to use Pork Detection Kits" for the detection of pork in either raw or cooked food materials. The kits are produced to a high level of sensitivity.

These detection kits are Immunochromatographic assays(2) using nano-sized colloidal gold particles to reveal the result. The assays allows a rapid detection of pork in food samples in a short time and at a low cost without using any special equipment or requiring skillful techniques. In addition to food regulatory agencies and meat processors in Japan, these kits can also be widely used by manufacturers seeking to obtain widespread trust in the quality of their food products globally. The detection kits will also be of interest to trading companies that are considering new business opportunities in the Islamic world where pork is a taboo for religious reasons. The main features of these detection kits are as follows.

- Assays can be performed on spot in 10 to 15 minutes.
- Assays can easily be performed anywhere as no special equipment is required.
- The assay can detect pork levels as low as 0.1% in cooked food and 0.005% in raw food.
- The cost per assay is much cheaper than any existing methods.

In many regions in Japan, there have been growing concerns about food among consumers due to problems concerning meat processing. The mislabeling of ground beef in 2007 by the meat processing company, Meat Hope, and another company being found to include other undeclared species of meat in 8 of its 15 ground beef samples revealed by the government conducted survey using DNA techniques, has brought public attention to this species adulteration issue. The Islamic population, which accounts for a quarter of the world's total population, is expected to grow rapidly and the food market for this group is also rapidly expanding. It is anticipated that there is an increased interest and need in pork testing by Muslims for whom pork is prohibited from their diet.

Differences Compared to Existing Methods

Existing testing methods (PCR(3) and ELISA(4)) require special techniques and equipment, because of laborious procedures involved in sample preparation, extraction, analysis and obtaining results, many food processors and dealers have been unable to conduct sufficient testing for their meat products. These pork detection kits make it possible to increase the number of sample inspection and testing because each of the test kit can be rapidly performed on site with no special equipment or trained personnel required. In addition, the cost is only one third of the cost of existing tests or less. Therefore, it is suitable for conducting preliminary screening of large number of routine samples before using an existing method for confirmation, enabling an enhanced surveillance program of the food supply.

Easy to Use Pork Detection Kit
Time (to results): 15 minutes
Detection Limit: 0.1% (processed meat)
0.005% (raw meat)

Existing Methods: PCR
Time (to results): 6 hours
Detection Limit: 0.001-0.1%*

Existing Methods: ELISA
Time (to results): 5 hours
Detection Limit: 1%

* Varies with the types of the materials and sample
processing conditions recommended by each manufacturer.

Business Scenarios

Easy to use Pork Detection Kits will not only enable the testing of intentional adulteration of pork but also allows the detection of low levels of unintentional or accidental contaminations in various meat products. Potential applications of the detection kits include:

- Sample inspection of imported processed meat products.
- Monitoring the proper cleaning procedure of the equipment used by meat processing industry.
- Quality assurance and quality control of meat products at the retail level.
- Field inspection by national and municipal government organizations for food labeling law enforcement.

Countries such as Malaysia and Brunei are aiming at the centralized certification, management and distribution of halal food(5) for Islamic food markets that are expected to grow rapidly. By using these detection kits, it will facilitate the establishment of a more effective meat testing system and a reliable brand certification program. The government of Brunei has expressed strong interest in these kits and a demonstration was recently conducted in Brunei.

Tanaka Precious Metals will extend this similar technology to develop a variety of assay kits for diverse applications. Since pork fat has been commonly used as an ingredient in a wide range of meat and non-meat products due to its functional properties, we are currently working with Prof. Y-H. Peggy Hsieh, of Florida State University in the United States, to jointly develop a rapid immunochromatographic kit for detection of porcine fat, which is also prohibited under Islamic dietary law,. We are also engaged in the development of a kit which is able to detect pig-derived gelatin used in pharmaceuticals or food. We believe that we will make substantial contribution to the Islamic community by providing these convenient testing kits.

Tanaka Precious Metals will provide a demonstration of these pork testing kits at the Japan Meat Industry Fair 2010 to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from April 7 (Wed) to April 9 (Fri). The company is also aiming at selling 30,000 test kits per month in the first year and expect to increase the sell to 100,000 kits per month once potential marketing partners for the products have been identified.

For more information, please see http://www.japancorp.net/pdf/tanakametals/040210.pdf.


(1) Nano-colloidal gold: Colloidally dispersed particles of nano-sized gold as a means to generate visualized color of the assay signal.

(2) Immunochromatography: An analytical method enabling visual determination of the concentration of a target molecule is above or below a specified threshold of concentration by reacting colored- particle labeled antibodies immobilized on the test strip with a liquid sample which is drawn into the test strip by capillary action. (Please see the attached file.)

(3) PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction): An analytical technique involves the amplification of a single or few copies of a piece of DNA to generate thousands to millions copies of a particular DNA sequence through an enzymatic assembling of the nucleotides.

(4) ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay): Analytical methods involve the binding of a soluble antigen or antibody to a solid support (immunosorbent) with an enzyme label being used to the detecting antigen or antibody to convert a colorless substrate to a colored soluble product in the solution, thus generating a detectable signal for the assay.

(5) Halal food: Food that has been prepared and processed according to Islamic dietary laws.

About Tanaka Precious Metals

Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd (Tanaka Precious Metals) is involved in the manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products, and the recycling and refining of precious metals. Founded in 1885 and incorporated in 1918, the group employs 1,653 worldwide. Sales for the year through March 2009 were 829 billion yen (US$8.8 billion). For more information, please visit www.tanaka.co.jp .



Source: Tanaka Precious Metals

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HONJO, Saitama -- The first facility in Japan capable of producing meats to Islamic "halal" standards has begun operation.

Situated in Honjo, Saitama Prefecture, the Honjo Shoku-niku Center can butcher meat to halal standards quickly and safely thanks to special halal butchering machinery. The center is the only facility in Japan to have installed such specialized machinery. The center hopes to increase exports of Japanese beef to Islamic countries.

Honjo Shoku-niku learned of halal preparation methods about 16 years ago when it granted a request from Muslim residents in neighboring Gunma Prefecture to use its facilities.

In 2008, the United Arab Emirates certified the Shoku-niku Center as a location where halal foods could be produced -- the first such meat-processing facility in Japan. The specialized machinery, which is widely used in Europe, was introduced as a condition for receiving the authorization.

In Islam, there are many strict guidelines about how to process beef, including particular prayers that should be recited during slaughter. Only meat that has been prepared this way is "halal" and suitable to eat by Muslims.

(Mainichi Japan) April 17, 2010

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