International Halal body to be set up

Riyadh - Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL), will chair the maiden meeting of the general assembly of the new Halal International Authority (HIA) in Riyadh on Wednesday. During the meeting, Al-Turki will announce the names of the members of the HIA’s first board of directors, who will hold their meeting immediately afterwards at the same venue to discuss several important subjects, including the formation of the authority’s legal committee. The HIA directors, according to an official statement, will also discuss plans to open offices overseas. The board of directors will discuss how to draft the mission statement of the new body, its mandate, as well as the basic framework of its rights, works and jurisdiction. The statement said that, “HIA is an international independent body affiliated to the MWL that will seek to maximize vigilance, attention, and commitment to verify Islamic standards of all products used and consumed by Muslims.” These products will range from food and drugs to cosmetics used by Muslims on a daily basis around the world. Located in Riyadh, HIA will cooperate with related institutions inside the Kingdom and those working overseas, including the Islamic states. “The authority is keen on collaborating and coordinating with the concerned parties in the Kingdom, amongst which comes the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) first,” it noted. The HIA will be established in line with the provisions of a royal order that decreed to assign the task of supervising the coordination of Halal animal slaughter to the MWL. The new body will work hard to comply with Islamic provisions, which will eventually lead to promoting Islamic standards for commodities including food and medicine in the Islamic states and the world at large. - ArabNews