Halal Assured: Five Korean Food Companies Ready for the Middle East

Five Korean food companies, including Seoul Milk and Punggi Ginseng Cooperative, have passed halal certification in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). (Image : Yonhap)

SEOUL, Nov.27 (Korea Bizwire) – Five Korean food companies, including Seoul Milk and Punggi Ginseng Cooperative, have passed halal certification in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The achievement marked the first time that Korean food companies passed the evaluation and received halal certification.

According to the Korean embassy in the UAE, the companies applied for halal assurance in September to set foot in the Middle Eastern food and beverage market, and passed the final screening.

Other than Seoul Milk and Punggi Ginseng Cooperative, Daesang, Jinju Gardening and Agricultural Cooperative Federation and DK Foods were also certified as halal assured.

To sell processed foods, cosmetics, leather and fur products in the Middle East, companies must produce goods that are halal assured. A total of seven companies applied for halal assurance for nine production facilities.

Passed the evaluation were ten products from Seoul Milk, including chocolate milk and  strawberry milk, and five products from Punggi Ginseng Cooperative, including red ginseng concentrate and red ginseng powder.

Starch syrup and rice syrup from Daesang, pears from Jinju Gardening and Agricultural Cooperative Federation and cheese sticks from DK foods also succeeded in getting halal assured.

Until now, Korean companies have received halal assurance from organizations in Indonesia, Malaysia or the U.S. before exporting their products to Muslim countries.

However, governments in the Gulf region are setting guidelines for halal assurance and proceeding to standardize them internationally.

The five companies which achieved halal assurance will receive their certification trophies at the K-Food Festival, which is currently underway in Dubai, UAE.

By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)