In addition, staff are trained on the specifics of halal logistics to ensure that all personnel involved in the supply chain understand and respect the religious, regulatory and technical requirements to safely deliver halal meat into Islamic markets.

Measures to preserve the halal integrity of the meat continue throughout the supply chain process, under the watchful eye of the Australian government. "As well as correct slaughter procedures, the welfare of animals being raised for slaughter is a key requirement of Sharia law," Ross points out. "Careful and highly regulated transportation of livestock is a key logistical component as is the separation of halal products from those which are haram'; after slaughter, during processing, storage and transportation to the customer."

Avoiding compromising halal integrity in this way may become an issue of contention for those companies who deal with both halal and non-halal products. Nevertheless, the separation of halal products is one of the most critical components of an intact halal food chain process, and measures need to be put in place throughout to avoid such contamination from occurring.

As one of the most reputed halal distributors across the Middle East, Al Islami Foods is well versed in these necessities of halal food logistics. With sales boosted by 25% up to an impressive US$41 million between 2004-5 alone, the company has been going from strength to strength, capitalising on its long-standing experience of the industry.

"Halal supply chains include everything from the procurment and preparation of genuine halal ingredients to the manufacturing and delivery of the final product all the way to customer shelves," explains Hasan Rimawi, chief technical officer at Al Islami Foods. "This includes the separation of halal ingredients or finished products from non halal products, such as alcoholic or pork-related products, throughout the entire chain. Similar measures need to be adopted in other areas of the logistics process, such as transporting halal fed animals to slaughterhouses or when shipping chilled or frozen halal meat in enclosed shipping containers."

Al Islami proactively avoids comprising the integrity of its products by taking control of the entire process from production, storage and transport, and through the supervision over the local suppliers it uses for certain products. "Supervising the process is the single most important aspect of controlling genuine halal products," Rimawi emphasises. "Al Islami has joined hands with multiple partners in different regions to ensure that each product is manufactured to the highest quality standards and is not mixed with any non halal ingredients."

Earlier this year the company announced a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of its most ambitious partners, Malaysia's Halal-Industry Development Corporation (HDC), to introduce the Al Islami Cart franchise concept to Southeast Asia and identify further opportunities in the region.

With Malaysia setting itself up to be the world hub for halal products and the leading edge on halal supply chain logistics, other companies in the region are also jumping on the bandwagon to develop partnerships with the ambitious country. Amongst those, Emirates SkyCargo is keen to be in the forefront of supporting the Malaysian government's initiative. With its Dubai hub having the vantage point of being a geographically-placed meeting point between East and West, the carrier is optimistic that it can provide the much needed synergy in the distribution of Malaysia's halal products globally. "This development will be good to promote halal food and non-food based products, especially to cater for the West Asian market," explains Bobby Chang, cargo manager, Emirates in Malaysia. "The move will also help pave the way for more Malaysian producers and manufacturers to penetrate the West Asian supply market."

According to Chang, Emirates currently carries a few hundred tonnes of cargo nine times a week in the belly of its B777-300 widebody aircrafts from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, with connections to more than 80 destinations worldwide. "We have sent halal food products from Malaysia to the Middle East meant for local distributions in the past, with shipments arriving fresh to various Middle East markets," he explains. To ensure that the halal products that it uplifts arrive fresh and in good condition at the appointed destinations, the carrier has developed a new service called Cool Chain, which is a premium solution designed especially for the movement of perishables and temperature sensitive products. Using specialised air cargo temperature controlled containers, Cool Chain offers a seamless air transportation chain suitable for the carriage of halal food products. "This service has been well-received by the food industry and had proven to be able to meet the high service standards required for uplift of halal food products," Chang elaborates.

For Emirates SkyCargo, driving forward its service is the enormous business viability of the halal goods market and it is clear that the carrier has totted up its sums in this area and come back smiling. "An increasing number of companies are producing halal goods to tap into the billion dollar global demand," Chang points out. "With more than1.8 billion muslims globally, the global halal food and non-food industries is estimated to have an expected growth rate of 10-20% each year," he calculates.

With logistics companies doing similar money-making equations on their potential profitability from the halal industry, it comes as no surprise that so many are eager to learn how to position themselves most favourably in the marketplace.

Christine Weaver, group exhibition director of IRR Middle East, organisers of this year's inaugural Halal World Expo in Abu Dhabi, agrees. "For the logistics industry, halal is a dynamic market that should not be ignored," she says. "The rate of growth driven by consumer demand for high quality halal products worldwide is a market to be taken seriously."

Undoubtedly the halal logistics sector will be one of the fastest changing areas to watch out for in the region. With increasing awareness and demand amongst its growing customer base as to the logistical processes involved, it seems halal food producers will have to work harder to ensure that their supply chain participants meet halal requirements.

Related Reports:
Special report: Halal logistics - Part 1
Special report: Halal logistics - Part 2
Special report: Halal logistics - Part 3

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