About JamHalCo

With 1.9 billion Muslims living in the world, most off whom who do adhere to the principals of their faith in regarding consuming only halal products, certification of halal products and services is an important necessity for entities that seek to service this segment of the global population. Muslims, in that they can be confident they are fulfilling their religious obligation when they purchase products for consumption and use, depend on Halal certification confirmation in their purchasing decisions. Here in Jamaica as well, with the growing Muslim population, in conjunction with the steady increase of Muslim tourist, and the growing number of Jamaican businesses that increasingly require validation that their products are halal to meet the increasing demand for halal products locally and globally, the need for halal certification is absolutely required. For this reason Jamaica Halal Council was formed to be the trusted source of halal certification in Jamaica.

In the Global halal economy, the scope of halal is not only limited to food products. In fact, pharmaceuticals,  cosmetics, as well as service sectors such as finance, logistics, and tourism are also within the realm of halal. The reality is that the concept of halal encompasses every stage of the production of a product or the provisioning of services until it reaches the consumer. All indications are that the awareness of the halal consumer is gaining momentum and global halal trade is in the trillions of dollars.

With the acceleration of the global halal trade, Jamaica needs to be present and represented, not only for the Muslims here in Jamaica but for the world. With the barrier of not having a halal certification body in Jamaica being an obstacle to partaking in this important sector from most importantly a religious perspective and additionally a business perspective, it is time for the Muslims in Jamaica to take action in this regard. 

Within this context, the Jamaica Halal Council (JamHalCo) was established to operate in the field of halal accreditation in Jamaica and to interact globally with other global Halal certification bodies and the countries they represent. JamHalCo as the only authorized institution to accredit halal conformity for Jamaican products, aims to represent Jamaica in international platforms as regards to halal accreditation and to act as a promoter of the Jamaica halal ecosystem. This paves the way for the opening up of new trading partners and destinations for Jamaican products.

Our fundamental functions of are as follows:

• To perform inspection of production facilities, their methods and end products
• To perform review of services in sectors such as finance, logistics, and tourism
• To provide halal accreditation to entities post verification review or inspection
• To maintain a public internet accessible database of verified Jamaican halal entities and businesses 
• To represent Jamaica either in regional or international accreditation unions and organizations.
• To conduct international relations in halal accreditation field and to sign bilateral or multilateral mutual recognition agreements.
• To create awareness about halal concept and certification
• To conduct research, Participate in training, international congresses, conventions and seminars.

Effective implementation of the duties of JamHalCo is crucial in terms of establishing a globally recognized and accepted halal certification system for Jamaica, which will overcome barriers to trade in halal products and services of Jamaican origin. In this respect, JamHalCo liaisons with the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), which is an affiliated body of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This organization is the de facto standardization body for most Muslim countries in respect to all things halal. With our cooperation with SMIIC, Jamaican halal products will meet approval for importation into its member countries, which is crucial in removing barriers and opening the way for halal products of Jamaican origin globally.

Mission

1. Establishment of full scope halal products and services verification institution in Jamaica. There by addressing the need for this facility for the growing Jamaican Muslim population and additionally enabling service providers and producers in Jamaica to partake in the global trillion dollar halal trade ecosystem.
   
   Towards this objective JamHalCo liaisons with the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), which is an affiliated body of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This organization is the de facto standardization body for most Muslim countries in respect to all things halal. With our cooperation with SMIIC, Jamaican halal products will meet approval for importation into its member countries, which is crucial in removing barriers and opening the way for halal products of Jamaican origin globally. We also cooperate with our local Islamic Council of Jamaica (ICJ) ensuring that we are in lockstep with our Muslim community here in Jamaica.

    

2. Providing training to businesses that partake in the production of halal products and provisioning of halal services.
   In meeting this objective we will provide training documentation, on site training at entities business site and in class training, all done in line with globally recognized halal standards.