By Hamed Chapman

London, (The Muslim News): The most internationally accredited halal certification body has formally launched operations in Europe by opening an office in London.

The World Halal Authority said that expanding its services to the UK is one of the strategic decisions the Milan-based body has taken to meet the expectations of the global food industry.

“The industry needs transparency in halal certification and underlying halal standards together with trade opportunities without any restrictions and barriers. This is what we offer to the global food industry”, said WHA Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Elkafrawy.

“This is just the beginning of a great project,” Elkafrawy said. “If 2020 is not a very lucky year for some, I am confident that 2021 will constitute a real revolution in the Halal market, where we are changing the dynamics of companies’ trade and lives of consumers for the better future.”

WHA, which has the highest number of halal international accreditations and recognitions in the world, said the market represents a great opportunity for companies to expand their business, with halal consumption exceeding $ 2.3 trillion in 2018, including $ 1.3 trillion spent in the food and beverage sector only.

The opening of the UK office was a “great strength and satisfaction for all SMEs and MNCs that aspire and wish to obtain an authoritative Halal certification that acts as a passport to the world market, and facilitating to export to all countries, without limitations,” it said.

Companies often find it challenging to export globally owing to non-recognition of their halal certificates. Many can face rejections, including having their consignments disposed at the ports of entry where inappropriate and non-recognised certificates are presented for clearance.

One of the central problems is that many countries have different standards and mechanism to validate and verify the authenticity of halal certification from abroad.

WHA is one of only a few bodies in Europe that facilitates companies to access the Halal market in countries such as Singapore, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Its UK and western European operations is being led by Saqib Mohammed, who has 15 years of experience in halal certification and halal quality assurance and has previously held the position of the CEO at a certification body in the United Kingdom
“It is complex to maximise Muslim consumers’ access to products that they truly deserve to use, but WHA is one of the few organizations in the world that works with heart and soul in this field to achieve these goals,” he said.