ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an initial overview of the market for halal certification in some of the main countries involved in the trade of Islamic-compliant products, and provides an initial classification. It also provides analyses based on surveys conducted over the past five years with experts and industry players in the global market for halal certification during professional events in Europe, Africa and Asia. The advent of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 was a major step in the shift from Islamic compatibility to halal certification. Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced a ban on all imported meats, which were declared non-Islamic and immediately destroyed. In secular countries, halal certification initiatives are organized by private organizations. Halal labelling of consumer products is not mandatory and, with the exception of some states in the United States, no secular law applies to production labelled as halal. New Zealand and Australia are historical meat exporters to the Muslim world.
