Halal certification requirements explained: video brief

No. Each market names its own: MS 1500:2019 in Malaysia, the GSO 2055 series in the GCC, OIC/SMIIC 1:2019 where a national authority applies the SMIIC standards, Law 33/2014 and Regulation 42/2024 in Indonesia, the Philippine National Standards on halal under RA 10817. The requirements overlap heavily, which is why one well-built halal assurance system can be certified for several markets; the certificates are separate.

It depends on the market. In Malaysia JAKIM certifies domestic producers and recognises foreign halal certification bodies for imports. In Indonesia BPJPH issues the certificate after a halal inspection body examines the product and the fatwa decision is made. In the GCC and the UAE, bodies accredited to GSO 2055-2:2021 by the GCC Accreditation Center or EIAC certify; in the UAE they must also be registered with MOIAT. In the Philippines, RA 10817 makes the Philippine Accreditation Bureau responsible for accrediting halal certification bodies. Sterling is not one of them.

Only if the destination recognises the issuing body. JAKIM publishes a list of recognised foreign halal certification bodies and authorities, 96 bodies across some fifty countries in the list effective 21 August 2026, and withdraws recognition when a body falls short. BPJPH keeps a directory of foreign halal institutions with their scopes and validity dates. The GCC and the UAE rely on accreditation to GSO 2055-2:2021. We check a certifier against the list of every market you sell into before you choose it.

In Indonesia, yes, in phases: products entering, circulating and traded in the country must be halal certified, medium and large food businesses are already covered, and further categories follow from 18 October 2026. In Malaysia, imported food and goods may not be described as halal unless certified by a JAKIM-recognised body. Elsewhere certification is a market and customer requirement rather than a legal one, which in practice can be just as binding.

The halal assurance system is the documented set of controls that keeps certified products halal between audits: materials and supplier verification, segregation and cleansing, traceability, training, internal audit and change control. Indonesia calls it the SJPH and requires every applicant to have a halal supervisor; Malaysia's Malaysian Halal Management System 2020 describes the internal halal control JAKIM expects, including appointed halal executives. Most certifiers expect a committee, or at least a responsible person, able to approve suppliers and decide holds.