COMSTECH-SMIIC Training Course on “OIC/SMIIC Halal Products Standards and Testing: Food, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics” was held between 20-24 May 2024 in Rabat and Mohammedia, Kingdom of Morocco, for Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and SMIIC members in the Arab region, in partnership with COMSTECH Secretariat and Institute Marocain de Normalisation (IMANOR) to encourage the harmonization of halal standards used in the OIC Member States and internationally by aiding in the adoption and use of the OIC/SMIIC halal standards, also transfer experience as well as equip participants with the latest analytic skills in halal testing.
The training was attended by the participants both in-person and online. Mr. Abderrahim TAIBI, Director General of IMANOR welcomed the participants and the experts. The Secretary General of SMIIC, Mr. İhsan ÖVÜT, and the Coordinator General of COMSTECH, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary and H.E. Amb. Dr. Ahmad Kawesa Sengendo, Assistant Secretary General, Science & Technology of the OIC addressed the inaugural session of the training. Both the dignitaries presented information on the detailed activities of their organizations.
The official opening of the training course was honored by the attendance of Ms. Ouezzani Amina, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Mr. El Houszein MIFRAH, High Council of Ulama of the Kingdom of Morocco. The representatives of ICDT and ICESCO also attended the opening session as the sister organizations of the OIC.
The training course included the following technical sessions:
OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 – General Requirements for Halal Food
Auditing of Testing Labs in line with OIC/SMIIC 35 – Conformity Assessment – General Requirements for the Competence of Laboratories Performing Halal Testing.
The training program also included two-day field training on the testing procedures standards such as the test method for detecting porcine in Food Products (meat, processed food, and gelatin) being chosen by the SMIIC TC1 Technical Committee for Halal food issues, this practical part took place in a Moroccan laboratory specialized in the field of analysis of halal products.
The first day of the training program was a general halal awareness day which was attended by more than 100 people physically and online. Topics on the first day included an introduction to SMIIC, standardization, quality infrastructure, conformity assessment, SMIIC accreditation council, halal food, halal cosmetics, halal pharmaceuticals, halal testing laboratories requirements, and analytical challenges of testing haram ingredients.
OIC/SMIIC 1 training was attended in hybrid mode by around 50 (fifty) students from different Arabic countries while OIC/SMIIC 35 training was attended by around 15 students from different 8 (eight) Arabic countries especially from, Comoros, Iraq, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Somalia and Tunisia. We would like to thank the Institute Marocain de Normalisation (IMANOR) for their excellent service and hospitality, and COMSTECH, who generously helped us make this event come together smoothly.
We would like to express SMIIC’s gratitude to the organizers of LC2A, which hosted the last two days of the training at their facilities where the practical part was conducted in their PCR laboratories.
