Certification Procedure

The certification body shall obtain all the necessary information to complete the certification process in accordance with the relevant certification scheme.
The following information shall be obtained:
– the product(s) to be certified;
– the standards and/or other normative documents for which the client is seeking certification
– the general features of the client, including its name and the address(es) of its physical location(s), significant aspects of its process and operations (if required by the relevant certification scheme), and any relevant legal obligations;
– general information concerning the client, relevant to the field of certification for which the application is made, such as the client’s activities, its human and technical resources, including laboratories and/or inspection facilities, and its functions and relationship in a larger corporation, if any;
– information concerning all outsourced processes used by the client that will affect conformity to requirements; if the client has identified a legal entity/entities for producing the certified product(s) that is different from the client, then the certification body can establish appropriate contractual controls over the legal entity/entities concerned, if necessary for effective surveillance; if such contractual controls are needed, they can be established prior to providing formal certification documentation (see 7.7);
– all other information needed in accordance with the relevant certification requirements, such as information for initial evaluation and surveillance activities, e.g. the locations where the certified product(s) are produced and contact personnel at these locations.

HFFIA receives the form and checks if all the documents have been supplied and the form completed by filling in the form FORM EXT-0001 – HFFIA Application form. Please download the application form below and send it to application@halal.nl

Only completed forms will be accepted. After the completed form has been received it will be reviewed by the decision committee to record the justification for the decision to undertake or decline Halal certification. The certification body shall conduct a review of the information to ensure that:
a) the information about the client and the product is sufficient for the conduct of the certification process; b) any known difference in understanding between the certification body and the client is resolved, including agreement regarding standards or other normative documents; c) the scope of certification (see 3.10) sought is defined; d) the means are available to perform all evaluation activities;
e) the certification body has the competence and capability to perform the certification activity.
If the clients Halal certification request includes a type of product or certification scheme with which HFFIA has no prior experience, this will be discussed by the DC extensively to ensure that HFFIA has the competence and capability for all the certification activities it is required to undertake. HFFIA shall decline to undertake a specific certification if it lacks any competence or
capability for the certification activities it is required to undertake.
If the application is not approved, the applicant will be informed of the decline accordingly. If the application is approved, a meeting or a teleconference with two representatives of HFFIA is arranged for the presentation and verification of the following points:
• HFFIA presents the company policy, method of working and guidelines in relation to Halal;
• The contract and costs are discussed and the attendance form is signed.

To get more detailed information regarding Halal Certification process, please send an e-mail to (hffia@halal.nl) or phone at +31 (0) 70 364 91 91.

Please also check our flowchart below:

Screening Process

The Screening Assessment means that every ingredient, additive, cleaning material, lubricant and (primary) packaging is checked for Halal worthiness.

What will be checked during screening?

Assessment of Halal certificates, statements, questionnaires, product specifications and other data.

Who will do the screening?

The screener will conduct the screening process after receiving the required documents from clients

What is the next step after screening?

The next step is conducting the audit

Audit Process

After all data has been screened , the audit part is started. This audit section generally also consists of 2 types of audits, a phase 1 audit and a phase 2 audit.

What is Audit Part 1?

A phase 1 audit will be started, followed by the phase 2 audit, which will require a recertification audit prior to the expiry of the validity of the Halal certificate every year.

The phase 1 audit aims to gain insight into the product safety management system in the context of food safety hazard identification, food safety analysis and in particular the state of the organization’s preparedness for the phase 2 Halal audit. After all the results of the phase 1 audit are known, the organization is informed that these results of the phase 1 audit may lead to a follow-up, postponement or cancellation of the phase 2 audit.

What is Audit Part 2?

The phase 2 audit is again more specifically aimed at protecting Halalworthiness by including and implementing the requirements from the standard(s) (see below the overview of the different standards) in the own Quality Management System, which will project itself to the physical process. A phase 2 audit is therefore more specifically aimed at gaining insight into the company policy, the objectives of the organization, the Quality Management System, the ingredients and products, the process, cleaning and transport. A physical tour also takes place to, for example, view and assess the part of the incoming goods, the process and the warehouse. The entire Screening & Audit assessment is ultimately assessed by the Decisions Committee of the HVV Inspection Service and upon agreement, the HVV Halal Certificate will be drawn up, which is recognized and accepted worldwide.

What is the standard being used for Audit?

The HFFIA Inspection Service uses the HQAS standard for testing the implementation of the requirements. This is its own HFFIA standard that incorporates the requirements of the international Halal standards listed below. By committing to the requirements in the HQAS, an organization automatically commits itself to international Halal standards. This obviously makes it easier for both parties.

-HAS 23000.1; MUI Indonesia

-MS 1500; Jakim Malaysia

-GSO 2055.1; General Requirements for Halal Food; GAC Middle East

-GSO 993; Animal Slaughtering Requirements Standard; GAC Middle East

-UAE 2055.1; General Requirements for Halal Food UAE.S; ESMA; United Arab Emirates

-PS-3733; PNAC Pakistan

-MOUSE-HC-S001; MOUSE Singapore

-THS 24000: 2552; Cicot Thailand

-OIC-SMIIC-1; SMIIC