Business support organisation The Food and Drink Forum can now help firms achieve a halal standard that verifies their products are suitable for Muslims after its technical manager became one of the first auditors in the region for the European Halal Development Agency standard.

An increasing number of food and drink producers are opting to gain the halal standard, helping to make their products suitable for as wide an audience as possible.

Now The Food and Drink Forum’s Richard Wigley has qualified to audit against the EHDA halal standard.

With approximately 3 million halal consumers in the UK, and millions abroad, the standard is set to becoming an important one for slaughterhouses, food manufacturers and food service operators, said Richard.

“The halal standard doesn’t just relate to slaughter, it relates to food manufacture and in food service too,” said Richard.

“Many companies are now operating to halal standards as a matter of course because it makes commercial sense to do so. Products like New Zealand lamb, for example are certified to halal standards and are exported to places all over the world, including traditional Muslim countries.”

The EHDA standard has been developed to ensure complete halal food supply chain assurance, he added.

The Certification against EHDA halal standard is in sections and achieved through an audit which can be stand alone, as it includes the requirements for a full food safety management system for slaughter, manufacturing and foodservice, or it can be stacked with a British Retail Consortium certification audit. Richard is one of only a handful of qualified auditors in the region.

The Food and Drink Forum is a membership-led business support organisation which works across the East Midlands and beyond. It is based at Southglade Food Park, Gala Way, Nottingham, and has members across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland and Northamptonshire.

Firms wanting more information should contact Richard Wigley at The Forum on 0115 9758810 or richard.wigley@foodanddrinkforum.co.uk.