HALAL ASSURANCE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

CHAPTER 3
Halal assurance system or HAS, is a systematic planning,
implementation of documentation in managing halal integrity in
relation to food production. Creating a credible HAS requires
planning and coordination from various parties within that
particular organization. It is also time-consuming and requires
diligent approaches when implemented.
• a) Halal Assurance System
When applied correctly, HAS will help in maintaining and
sustaining halal integrity system throughout the entire supply
chain.
• b) Setting Up Halal Assurance System
Since setting up HAS requires careful planning, steps must be
taken to form them.
Steps in setting up HAS
The figure is sourced from General
Guidelines Of Halal Assurance
System, The Assessment Institute
For Foods, Drugs And Cosmetics,
Indonesian Council Of Ulama
i. Halal Assurance Planning

• The first step is planning. HAS is very clear and defines a set of task that governs
the halal integrity in an organization. Setting up a working system is not an easy
task. The system must be free from error so that its effectiveness in maintaining
whatever task it intended to be eventually become successful.

• The first step in setting up HAS is to determine the needs for one. For halal
certification purpose, it is necessary to have one as it is one of the criteria look for
in the certification process. HAS planning requires commitment from the
management in term of resources. The management shall in its best abilities
provide all the necessary resource, monetary, manpower and willingness to
conform itself with the halal assurance system.
ii. Creating Halal Policy
• The next step is to formulate a halal policy. The halal policy will
dictate the overall HAS implementation, as well as the strategy to
create, operate and maintain a systematic HAS. The halal policy is a
declaration, a written statement of company commitment to
producing halal product continuously and consistently.

• The halal policy is considered as fundamental to a company in term of

setting up, implementing, monitoring and evaluation and necessary
corrective action of HAS.
Halal policy should, at least, consist of these elements:

• A brief background of the company.

• General statement of the company readiness level in
implementing halal.
• Company mission and vision in implementing and adopting
halal in their corporate structure
• The company pledges towards customer expectation on halal
tools, method and task the company use to implement the
halal system
iii. Formation of Internal Halal Committee (IHC)
After a proper halal policy has been laid out, then there are the
needs to create an Internal Halal committee (IHC). The inner
working of IHC has been discussed in Chapter 2.
iv. Setting HAS Objective
• The next steps after formation of IHC were to set and defined the objective of HAS. In
general, HAS is created to ensure the systematic application and monitoring of halal in the
organization. The objectives of HAS are as follows:
• To ensure the integrity of Halal processing by continuously and consistently monitored
on the compliance to the Shariah (Islamic Law).
• To ensure compliance with all guidelines issued by halal Certification authorities such
as Halal Assurance Management System of Malaysia Halal Certification produced by
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM).
• To ensure compliance to the Malaysia Standard MS 1500:2009 Halal Food Production,
Preparation, Handling and Storage – General Guideline (Second Revision) produced by
SIRIM.
v. Creating HAS Manual Procedure
• Depending on the objective that has been set up, the IHC task
is to set up a working halal manual procedure. The halal
manual procedure contains all the task, process flow and inner
working of the production line.
vi. Creating SOP and Term of References

• After the manual has been formulated, it then needs to be translated or converted into
working standard operating procedures (SOP). SOP a set of standard instruction tools
to complete a certain routine process. SOP is set up as standard procedure in HAS
implementation. SOP is established for all activities in halal production process i.e. SOP
for Research & Development, Purchasing, Quality Assurance /Quality Control,
Production, and Storage/Warehousing. Due to different complexity level in a company,
SOP(s) are unique. An example of key activities in SOP for halal production is SOP for
material purchasing, SOP for new material usage, and SOP for new supplier change.

• The process flow must follow the halal manual procedure and the SOP. This is to avoid
any halal threat from manifesting itself as non-conformances
vii. Plan an Internal Halal Auditing
• An internal audit must be planned to check and compare
practices and compliances against set standards, Manual
procedure, and term of reference for each department.
Planning for auditing must be set up in advance and need to
be an advocate within the organization
viii. Familiarization & Socialization
Prior to the actual auditing, the employee needs to be familiarized with HAS.
Training and induction session must be conducted to educate and familiarize
the employee with the importance of HAS. The familiarization not only
limited to the employee but also must also be extended to the third party such
as supplier, transporter etc. These activities are aimed at creating awareness of
all stakeholders on halal policy, in order to encourage them to apply it at the
operational level. Halal policy socialization could be in the form of a poster,
leaflet, general lecture, internal bulletin, and supplier audit or company
internal memo.
ix. Conduct Internal Audit & Evaluation
• A system, when left without proper monitoring and
surveillance, will collapse by itself. In HAS, audit process
plays vital roles in the system monitoring and surveillance.
Apart from the external audit conducted by the religious
authority, internal audit is used primarily to make sure the
system are in check.
x. Halal Assurance System Approval
• After all criteria in the process flow has been satisfied, with
marginal errors and discrepancies, the HAS manual is now
ready to be approved and used in the organization. Periodical
monitoring as well as assessment by the management is vital
to ensure the integrity of the HAS system being implemented
The process of setting up HAS seems to be a complicated in
nature, but given the importance of HAS in managing and
controlling halal within an organization, having one is pivotal to
the halal integrity of a company. All the said due process are
essential in the process of creating HAS systematically. For an
example, HAS manual procedure is important because it contains
all the necessary documentation in regards to the halal
management.