Add new comment

It was July 23 that the expert commission of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Ummah” visited the confectionary factory “ABK” in the city of Donetsk, to inspect if the products and production conditions meet “halal” standards.

 

 

The commission made the follow up visit to the factory at the beginning of September, and the manufacturer took the decision to expand the nomenclature of products made in keeping with Shariah requirements to 120 brands. The inspection was successfully passed by 67 brands of bonbons, 3 brands of syrup-filled bonbons and chocolate, 12 brands of jelly sweets and pastilas, 20 brands of biscuits, roll crackers, airy sweets and wafers. Documentation and certification is being under way now.    

 

Company management expects to put “halal” marks in front of relevant brands displayed on their official web-site; yet the question of whether or not these marks will be envisaged in package design of “ABK” products is still open now.

 

Such a certification procedure has been undertaken by “ABK” company for the expected expansion of exports to Muslim countries. 

As explained by company staff, the need for new market penetration occurs as products of Ukrainian confectionary companies stand out for high quality given moderate prices. In fact, “price-quality” balance is a visiting card of Ukrainian confectionary makers. It has been highly appreciated in Iraq, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, which have been stable buyers of “ABK” products. Once the “halal” certificate is issued, expectations of importing company-made bonbons, biscuits and wafers are held by Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. 

 

The news about issuing the “halal” certificate for part of the output of a largest confectionery company of Ukraine is even more important and relevant for Ukrainian Muslims. The problem lies in total absence of information in Ukraine about brands not containing fats, alcohol additions, gelatin and other components prohibited by Islam, and about their makers. While it was long ago that Muslim countries fixed the range of permitted confectionary ingredients and methods for sweet products making, the ultimate information vacuum about this still exists in Ukraine. This is also paradoxical because Ukraine has exported confectionery to Muslim countries for years, as said by “ABK” technologists and managers.

 

According to Mrs. Oksana Starostina, company manager, controlling offices from Muslim countries have already inspected the company products to the effect of meeting international quality standards, but international standards do not account for the Islamic canons of the permissible and the prohibited in foods. Company management has, therefore, inquired the Information and Analytical Center of “Alraid”, to have a conclusion of Islamic experts from Ukraine on what products meet the Islamic norms. 

 

It should be stressed that not all the “ABK” bonbons meet the “halal” standard (although their larger part does). Muslims should, therefore, remember which of them are qualified as halal. “ABK” company is planning to put “halal” mark on all the certified products in the section “Products” displayed on the Ukrainian language page of its web-side, for purposes of Ukrainian Muslims.

 

Mr.Said Ismaguilov, Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Ummah”, comments the situation in the following way: “it is sad that Ukrainian Muslims have not raised the issue about permissibility of confectionary products for so many years, given that nearly everyone includes confectionary in his/her diet or in the diet of his/her children. The only excuse for us may be novelty of the certification procedure for halal in Ukraine, which demand appeared with the renaissance of Islam and Islamic cultural identity in our country. While in the past checks for meeting the “halal” standard were important for meat, sausage or tinned products, now they are important for confectionery products as well”.

 

reporter.