Developments In Food Technology Require Cooperation Of Islamic Scholars, Scientists

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 (Bernama) -- Developments in food technolopy require Islamic scholars to work together with scientists in ensuring the production process incorporates the halal aspects in the interest of Muslims worldwide. Deputy director-general of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim), Prof Dr Azizan Baharuddin said such cooperation could also solve the problem of determining "whether a product is halal or not, hence removing doubts among Muslims over food produced through biotechnology". "Muslims actually have not realised how complex food processing has become today, that in come cases, it is difficult to determine the contents of the food products," she said when opening a seminar on the 'Halal Food Crisis: Towards Solving It', organised by Ikim, here, Tuesday. Azizan said current trends showed the proliferation of food products in the market which contained additives, preservatives and artificial flavours and colouring that could cause health problems to consumers. In addition, she said, there were claims that some of the processed food contained pork and other "haram" (forbidden in Islam) elements, causing concerns and uneasiness among Muslims. Azizan said the halal food crisis should be seen as a problem affecting people's lives and needed to be resolved in the best possible way to allay those fears among consumers, especially Muslims. Towards this end, she said Ikim had organised the seminar to discuss the halal issue and the solutions, including awareness and enforcement. The 150 participants of the seminar include academicians and representatives of pharmaceutical companies and non-governmental organisations. Research officer with Ikim's Centre for Science and Environment Studies, Norkumala Awang in her working paper, said the Health Ministry should conduct regular checks on the amount of additives included in food products. She said if an additive failed in the carcinogenic test and other tests, it should be reduced or prohibited. "The safe amount should be stated on the product label," Norkumala said, adding that food manufacturers should be more aware of ensuring that claims made or information on the labels did not create doubts or fears among consumers. Lack of transparency in food product labelling would have a bad impact not only on consumers but food manufacturers as well, she said. -- BERNAMA