MANILA, Philippines - It is the end of Ramadan.  With the long fast over, following a time of self-denial and purification, it is a time for celebration.  

Still, all Muslims must remember to stay the course, following the good path, and when it comes to food, the halal way.

Lawyer Abdul Rahman Linzag, president of the Islamic Dawah Council of the Philippines (IDCP), said halal means living right and eating right, guided by Muslim tradition and faith.

Halal vs. haram

"All things Muslims take must be halal, and halal means accepted by God, means good and this is determined according to the Koran, the last revelation of God for mankind. Without this guidance man is given his own free will, there is no free latitude for choice or they can choose what is prohibited by God," Linzag said.

"Food is a blessing from God and it must be from a halal source. If its haram its not a blessing but a sin to take," he added.

"Technically, 'halal' means legal, meaning good, valid, best quality.  The opposite of that is 'haram' meaning forbidden by God, dangerous for you carried by religious practice.  It is thru religion that establishes the way of life for Muslims, Islam is a way of life,"  he explained.

"It is incumbent upon the Muslim himself who is taking care of what he should eat, he should know before he eats something," Linzag said. "The one who provides the food must ask for assistance with identifying through certification."

"If the owner of the restaurant is Turkish, presumably 80% of Turkish are Muslim, the presumption is Muslims can eat the food.  But to be certified as halal you must have a certification, which is only awarded after a series of cerification and authentication."

In September 2008, an incident involving a Muslim congresswoman who was fed with pork laden-noodles brought to light the need for greater socio-cultural sensitivity.

But to date, the Philippine government has yet to take a serious look at halal as a policy.

Halal certification

Halal certification depends on meeting stringent requirements for raw materials, how they are processed and logistics.

"There us a need to certify raw materials so consumers may be guided how to prepare food.  Generally, all food are Halal except those that are forbidden such as pork, dog meat, poultry not slaughtered properly, or ingredients that are processed thru these type of raw materials that are not halal when a product is applied for halal certification we dissect raw materials. How are they processed and what are their processing aids," Linzag said.

For instance, cake from flour, and wheat fortified with vitamins sourced from animals or plants that are not halal naturally make them haram.

The IDCP is the Supreme Court-approved and duly-recognized halal certification and accreditation authority in the Philippines.  

It processes applications for halal certification for food establishments and food and non-food products, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals.  It is also the only certifying body in the Philippines accepted to authenticate products for the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the only member of the World Halal Council (WHC).

"Almost 400 companies are certified in the Philippines," Linzag pointed out.  

He, however added there is a dearth of good halal restaurants for our tourists, noting there are only 4 to 5 restaurants in the country are halal-certified.

Linzag noted that while Greenhills branch of Kenny Rogers has been approved for halal certification, all branches are in the process of being certified by the end of 2012.

Since halal certifications were first issued in 1987, when non-Muslim countries needed it to export products to Muslim countries, applications for halal certification currently run to the thousands, with requests pending in and around Asia.  Linzag attributes the demand to globalization.

For Muslims, halal is a way of life but as a standard of quality, halal is also being embraced the world over.

"In other companies in other countries we certify in China, Japan, in Brazil, some in Argentina, South Korea, even in Pakistan," Linzag said.

"By belonging to one global community you should have no hindrance in your products to other countries, but the limit is if it is not accepted in their culture to remove that hindrance then Halal certification," he said.

He added that haram is not limited to meat.  It also includes products harmful to the health like the notorious melamine chemical which sparked a food scare in 2008, and triggered the pull-out of milk products and infant formula from China.

Today, Linzag said, China is processing halal certification for almost 30 variants of chemical products.

The WHC, of which IDCP is part, is set to discuss halal standards from October 13 to 17 in Istanbul, Turkey.