Malaysia Has Competitive Advantage To Become Halal Ingredients Supplier - HDC

By Azlee Nor Mahmud KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, one of the major players in the global palm oil industry, has a competitive advantage in becoming a halal ingredients supplier, said Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) Chief Executive Officer, Jamil Bidin. "A lot of ingredients being produced today are not halal as most of them are animal-based oils, and if not treated the halal way, would be non-halal. These animal oils could be substituted by palm oil," he told Bernama. Jamil said ingredients were the most sensitive items in the halal production as by not using halal ingredients, the products would never be certified halal. Because of this, he said the halal ingredients sector is a strategic industry and Malaysia should strive to become the main supplier for the rest of the world. "There are not many players or companies that are supply halal ingredients...We can be that supplier," he said. Citing cake shortenings and emulsifiers as examples, he said these ingredients, which are utilised in lot of food production as well as cosmetics, were derived mainly from animal-based. Other examples were fatty acids, fragrances, colouring and gelatin, he added. Jamil said more than 95 per cent of the gelatin produced in the world currently are not halal. Gelatin is largely utilised in food, cosmetics as well as medicines, he said, adding that the pharmaceutical capsule shells that are available in the market at present are made of gelatin. "If the availability of halal gelatin is merely five per cent, then the opportunity is huge," Jamil said. Nevertheless, he said a lot of research and development (R&D) needed to be done going forward and many players must enter and participate in the halal ingredients industry. These breakthroughs in R&D needed to be commercialised, he said. "A lot of investment is needed for commercialisation and the halal ingredients industry needs help as the returns are manifolds. "Threfore, I urge the government, private sector and government-linked companies to inject funds into this industry," he said. "It is a very important industry and an important element in the halal value chain in order to produce halal products," he added. -- BERNAMA