Azlan Othman
The global food service market is projected to grow from USD2.54 trilion in 2022 to USD5.19 trillion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.76 per cent.
As for the global fast food industry, it growth is projected from USD972.74 billion in 2021 to USD1,467.04 billion at CAGR of 6.05 per cent.
This was stated by Halalan Thayyiban Research Centre at Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) Associate Professor Dr Moohamad Ropaning Sulong at the final day of International Seminar on Halalan Thayyiban Products and Services on ‘Wisdom of food and beverages prohibition in Islam; Maqasid Syariah perspective’ at Balai Khazanah Islam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah yesterday. He highlighted that there is a mention in Al-Quran on our food intake where diet is considered as a form of medication to cure diseases and “We are advised to eat a little and not too frequently.”
Islam is also not against the development of technology which should be used in the right place like gene editing which is an emerging technology for generating improved crops and animal desired traits, he said. He also highlighted the disadvantages of food processing which strips off nutrients while also containing added chemicals and preservatives that could be harmful to health. Meanwhile Sufiana Sarisae from Halal Institute of Prince Songkhla University, Thailand delivered a talk on ‘The need for halal certification for medical devices: a case study of Thailand’.
According to her, Thailand receives many tourists from Islamic countries for medical tourism.
She called for medical services to be halal certified to boost the production of halal medical devices. She highlighted that the application for halal certification should not be limited to food and beverages. SHe said it must also be extended to non-food and services, including medical devices.
As a country receiving a significant number of Muslim medical tourists, Thailand will be one of the first countries promoting the application of halal certification for medical devices, she said.
Meanwhile, Professor Quamrul Hasan from the Centre for Global Initiatives at Osaka University, Japan touched on the ‘Potentiality in the development of Halalan Thayyiban products and services of the global standard’.
