Brunei halal seal goes high-tech

Berita dari Brunei..My x-supervisor final year project 2006-2007


Brand credibility: Dr Abd-ElAziem Farouk Gad presents findings of Brunei's halal food detection research to boost the credibility of the sultanate's halal brand. Picture: Zamri ZainalSobrina Rosli

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Friday, March 14, 2008

INNOVATIVE technology will boost the credibility of the Brunei Halal Brand, courtesy of scientific research findings by the Department of Agriculture and Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

This a result of collaboration between the two institutions toward strengthening the methods by which the accreditation process for the brand will be undertaken.

The sultanate now has a more advanced halal certification method based on scientific research, Normah SH Jamil, acting director of agriculture at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, said in an interview with The Brunei Times.

"This would help develop the confidence of consumers when they see the Brunei halal brand it means that it has been checked thoroughly through physical observation ... and through the scientific tools being used," she said.

The two research areas were the development of Novel biomarkers for the detection of halal in non-halal and stunned slaughtered meat and the development of Gad-holistic kit for halal detection, both by Professor Dr.rer.nat Abd-ElAziem Gad, professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at the Faculty of Science at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

The acting director of Agriculture said the products such as the Gad-holistic kit for Halal detection would be commercialised.

"This will help the private sector bring confidence in their products to be certified halal, this is a cheaper way to certify halalness," she said.

Through the Brunei Halal brand, Brunei has set its target of becoming one of the major players of the halal brand globally through halal food certification processes.



This is among a number of strategies for Brunei to diversify economic activity and reduce its reliance on its mineral resources. At the same time, it is seen to boost efforts to get a good share of the lucrative halal market.

The Brunei Times