Halal Note Series – Halal Common No.

1- 2019

HALAL RELATED MALAYSIAN STANDARDS

AHMAD SAHIR JAIS
Principal Consultant, HASJ Consultancy / Lecturer, Foodservice Halal Practice, Politeknik Malaysia

Summary: The Malaysian standards are governed by the Department of Standards Malaysia (Standard Malaysia), an agency under the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI). Standards Malaysia is the national standards body and the national accreditation body, derived its statutory power under Standards of
Malaysia Act 1996. As to date, the number of Halal related standards is currently tally at 15, and the number is increasing.

What is a “Standard”? The terms standards, according to
Standards of Malaysia Act 1996, Section 2, Act 549 define “standard”
as a document that established by consensus and approved by a
recognised body, which provides for common and repeated use. The
document in questions contains rules, guidelines or characteristics for
activities or their results, aimed at achieving the optimum degree of
order. The standard's scope is limited to a particular parameter or
areas in a given context with which compliance is either voluntary or
mandatory.
By having specific standards, it gives rise to the process of
standardisation. Standardisation indicates any activities of
establishing, with regards to actual or potential problems, provision
for common and repeated use, aimed at the achievement of the
optimum degree of order in a given context. This pieces of official
document are legally binding, as it is drafted and gazette by virtue of
specific clause and acts in the Malaysia law systems. The said act,
prescribed in subsection 15 (1) of the Standard of Malaysia Act (Act
549), confer the minister's power to declare the application of specific
Malaysian Standards to be mandatorily or voluntarily used.
Mandatory used means that the standards are part of the requirement
for producing that particular product. Other standards can be
adopted voluntarily by the industry such as the MS1900 series on the
quality management system. For a standard to be selected as
mandatory, the standards must have a direct effect on consumer
safety, environmental impact and also poses health issues.
The MS1500:2019 for an example, it's every requirements and inclusion
clauses is adopted by JAKIM, a Halal regulatory body in Malaysia as part
of the provision in Halal certification. JAKIM uses the standards as
primary references for Halal certification, supported by specifically
developed guidelines and manual procedures. Halal certification
applicants must achieve compliances to every requirement in the
standards. For this, JAKIM needs to conduct a compliance audit to verify
the conformance, before granting the Halal certification. Non-compliances
to this requirement in the standards will result in a penalty.
The Malaysian standards especially the Halal standards are
benchmarked for other halal standards, worldwide. Its credibility is
derived through its meticulous development process which is in line with
the International Standards Organization (ISO) at all level. Standards
Malaysia adopts global best practices, guidelines and standards in its
development. The development process also adheres to the principles laid
by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for standards development,
which made the standards easily acceptable worldwide. The stakeholders
are engaged and participate actively in the development process through
Working Groups (WG) and public comments. The MS1500:2019 for an
example, is developed out of the necessity to have a specific standard that
could cater for Halal food in Malaysia.
Table 1 below specifically list out Halal Related Malaysia standards
that have been enforced in Malaysia. Standards which is highlighted in Red
denotes recently revised standards.

Table 1. List of Halal related Malaysian Standards

NO. CODE STANDARDS TITLE
1 MS1500:2019 Halal Food – General Requirements
2 MS 2424:2012 Halal Pharmaceuticals - General Guidelines
3 MS 2634:2019 Halal Cosmetic - General Guidelines (First Revision)
4 MS 2200-2:2012 Islamic Consumer Goods - Part 2: Usage Of Animal Bone, Skin And Hair – General Guidelines
5 MS 2400-1:2019 Halal Supply Chain Management System - Part 1: Transportation - General Requirements (First Revision)
6 MS 2400-2:2019 Halal Supply Chain Management System - Part 2: Warehousing - General Requirements (First Revision)
7 MS 2400-3:2019 Halal Supply Chain Management System - Part 3: Retailing - General Requirements (First Revision)
8 MS 1900:2005 Quality Management Systems - Requirements From Islamic Perspectives
9 MS 1900:2014 Shariah-Based Quality Management Systems - Requirements With Guidance(First Revision)
10 MS 2300:2009 Value-Based Management System - Requirements From An Islamic Perspective
11 MS 2393: 2013 Islamic And Halal Principles - Definitions And Interpretations On Terminology
12 MS 2565: 2014 Halal Packaging - General Guidelines
13 MS 2594:2015 Halal Chemicals For Use In Potable Water Treatment - General Guidelines
14 MS 2610:2015 Muslim Friendly Hospitality Services - Requirements
15 MS 2627:2017 Detection Of Porcine DNA - Test Method - Food And Food Products
Source: Department of Standards Malaysia (2019)

In view with the changes and dynamic trends in the Halal
industry, the first quarter of 2019 saw several revised Malaysian
standard on halal being gazetted by the Department of Standards
Malaysia. Revision on the standards includes the review of the
MS1500:2019, MS2200-1 (2008) and MS2400 series on Halal logistic.
Table 1 above highlighted the newly revised version of Malaysia
standards on Halal. The revision mostly to enhance the content of the
standards, in line with recent changes in the processing and
production of Halal food. Some of the standards code and title also
changed to reflect the impending revision.
Other standards that currently in the process of revision or at the
final stage of review includes the MS2424:2012 and MS2393:2013.
There are also plan for new standards to develop such as Halal
medical devices and code of ethics for Halal professionals.
These standards are currently being developed or at their final stages of
development.
There are also plan to develop a specific standard on Halal meat
production which covers Halal slaughtering and also stunning. This is
important as in the recently gazetted MS1500:2019 Halal food standards,
clauses on halal slaughtering and stunning have been removed. The
removal of the sections and provisions has made Halal certification for
Halal abattoir void of specific standards.
Halal standards application as part of the Halal certification procedure
has defined the roles and position of Malaysia in the Halal market, a leader.
It provides surety to process and product manufactured and produce, in
relation to Halal.

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