The halal concept has expanded beyond a religious standpoint to become a standard for business practice. The standards have grown in acceptance by the business community as well as governmental organizations and the common population – regardless of their belief. This is because the halal values include everything within the eco-system and covering all sectors including specialty processed food, cosmetics and personal care, livestock, halal ingredients, pharmaceuticals and services.

By definition concerning any declaration of halal means fulfilling standard requirement and followed by “protection of consumers” whereby the manipulation of halal logo and the use of false halal description to lure consumers into purchasing certain products are regarded as a serious offence. The fact that Muslim consumers are very cautious with what they consumed, the Halal logo on products is very important and part of marketing symbol to Muslims.

The Government through Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs established the Trade Descriptions (Definition of Halal) Order 2011. In Section 28 of the ‘Act’ where it defines any food that is either manufactured, sold or to be consumed must be in accordance to Hukum Syarak, i.e. Islamic Laws when it comes to Muslim consumers.

This is in support to the Trade Description Act (TDA) 2011 which has been approved by Parliament on 11 July 2011 and the enforcement started on 1 January 2012. The TDA 2011 is an ‘Act’ to promote good trade practices by prohibiting false trade descriptions and false or misleading statements, conduct and practices concerning the supply of goods and services.

To further strengthen the Regulations on Halal in section 28, the section 29 which is Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011 defines the competent authority in Malaysia on integrity where the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and the Islamic Religious Council in the respective states are the authority to certify any food, goods or services is halal in accordance with the Trade Description (Definition of Halal) Order 2011.