Jointly Organized by OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) and the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) and Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzATR) in collaboration with Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS)
Venue: Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan
Date: 12 - 16 May, 2025
Deadline for applications: 25th March, 2025
Introduction
In view of the diversity of several products, including processed food and other items of daily use in the present day, authentication and confirmation of their Halal nature is a growing challenge globally. Beside the environmental contaminants, both biological and chemical, addition of non-halal ingredients, which is prohibited for Muslims, are a matter of concern. In recent years, awareness about Halal food and products has increased due to the cross contamination of several industrial products in our daily life. However, with increasing globalization, many Islamic countries import these products (or ingredients) from places, which do not observe the Islamic religious laws. It is therefore, imperative for the Muslim countries to establish Halal testing laboratories, which will ensure the ‘Halal’ status of the consumer products.
COMSTECH, SMIIC and other OIC institutions/organizations have been mandated by the Abu Dhabi Declaration (Second OIC Summit on Science & Technology, June 2021) to develop the capacity of Least Developed Countries of the OIC relevant to Halal (Clause # 32).
Course Objectives
The objective of this training courses is to encourage the harmonization of Halal Standards used in the OIC Countries and internationally by aiding in the adoption and use of the OIC/SMIIC Halal Standards. The training course is designed to train the participants from Central Asian-OIC Member States regarding the procedures for adoption, implementation and use of the OIC/SMIIC Halal Food Standards, mainly:
1. OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 – General Requirements for Halal Food
2. Auditing of Testing Labs in line with OIC/SMIIC 35:2020– Conformity Assessment– General Requirements for the Competence of Laboratories Performing Halal Testing.
3. The Testing Procedures standards such as Test Method for detection of porcine in Food Products (meat, processed food and gelatin) which are being chosen at SMIIC TC1 Technical Committee for Halal food issues.
4. OIC/SMIIC 4 Halal Cosmetics – General Requirements
5. OIC/SMIIC 50-1: 2022 Halal Pharmaceuticals - Part 1 - General Requirements
The aim is to transfer knowledge and skills, and to develop the human capital, while bridging the knowledge gap and enlightening the compliance requirements set forth by the regulatory bodies in the OIC Countries.
Practical session: A practical session will be conducted for a limited number of selected participants to transfer hands-on knowledge in halal laboratory testing methods.
Who Should Attend?
The training course is designed to address the interest of scientists, research scholars, government officials, statutory policymakers, enforcement officers, and food safety auditors in OIC/SMIIC Halal Products Standards and Testing.
Travel & Local Hospitality:
The organizers will cover the flight tickets and accommodation expenses (7 nights) from Category-1 countries as listed below to attend the training. Please also note that there is a limit of maximum 10 (ten) participants whose expenses will be borne by SMIIC, COMSTECH and IOFS. (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Albania, Uganda, Pakistan, Türkiye)
The training is also open to Category II countries as listed below. Limited funds are available to cover accommodation expenses of shortlisted participants from Category II countries. Participants are expected to cover the flight tickets from parent organizations. (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Russian Federation). SMIIC and COMSTECH will arrange local hospitality for selected participants.
Workshop Coordinators:
Muhammad Haris Akram
Program Manager
COMSTECH, Islamabad.
Email: haris@comstech.org
Phone: +92 51 9220681
Çağrı Cankurtaran
Specialist
SMIIC, Istanbul.
Email: cagri.cankurtaran@smiic.org
Phone: +90 532 561 63 93