Emirates Halal Center, a Halal certification agency authorized by the Government of United Arab Emirates (UAE), was set up at Minato ward, Tokyo on February 13.
The Center issues Halal certificates which are to be required for exporting Halal goods to UAE. It is the first agency that was established out of the country.
Halal certification systems observing Islamic precepts differ from country to country, which makes it necessary for trading firms to obtain respective Halal certificates according to the destination of Halal goods.
The authority of UAE requires trading companies to get Halal certificates for processed and other foods except perishable ones.
Before the Center is established in Tokyo, Japanese trading firms had to apply for Halal certificates to an office of the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology in UAE.
Center’s granting Halal certification on behalf of UAE’s government is expected to considerably reduce a burden of application process.
The Halal certificate costs about 800 thousand yen per application. The certificate should be renewed every year.
It will take around one month for an applicant to get the certificate because the Center needs to check particularly whether production processes of applicant’s foods or beverages meet the Halal standard requirements.