06
@Halal | april-may. 2019
Asia Pacific
Ready
for a halal Olympic Games
Muslim World League to supply halal meals
for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
T
MWL will be the exclusive
provider in Japan, generally,
and in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic
Games, particularly, of halal-
certified meals.”
he secretary-general of the
Muslim World League (MWL),
Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-
Issa, who is also the president of
the International Islamic Halal
Organizsation, has made an
exclusive distribution agreement with Japan.
As part of the agreement, MWL will be the
exclusive provider in Japan, generally, and in
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, particularly,
of halal-certified meals.
The signing ceremony was attended by
Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, special adviser to the
Japanese prime minister, and Prince Hiroyo-
shi, the cousin of the Emperor, along with a
number of representatives of Islamic centers,
Japanese authorities and major companies.
It grants MWL the right to regulate, in
cooperation with the Japanese government,
halal foods and services to the highest
standards.
It will also certify the products and ser-
vices in accordance to the halal and hygienic
standards before they reach the consumers.
MWL will also issue halal certification for
products designated to Muslim communi-
ties in Japan or those to be exported abroad,
especially to Arab and Muslim countries.
A growing market
in halal products
Japan is a new but sharply growing halal
Halal food
delivery
strengthens
in Singapore
Singapore’s online food delivery services
have been strengthening their halal creden-
tials by better catering for the Muslim market,
in the process creating a new sub-segment of
competition.
Deliveroo, a British start-up with opera-
tions across Europe and Asia Pacific, is the
latest to promise Singaporean customers that
their halal orders will be kept separate from
non-halal foods by using designated satchels
during delivery.
“The move is both in response to feedback
from customers and restaurant partners, as
market. The country’s producers are seeking
fresh opportunity in the halal sector and they
are striving to seek new local and interna-
tional markets, especially now that Japan is
the officially designated venue for the 2020
Olympics, attracting Muslim tourists from
all around the world.
In his address, Al-Issa stressed the impor-
tance of this cooperation between MWL and
Japan. And he hailed the highest levels of co-
existence, national integration and harmony
pervasive across all religions, sects, and races,
as well as the human values and ethics deeply
instilled within the Japanese people.
Meanwhile, Dr Noka Miyagima, CEO of the
NGOs, regarded the signing of this agreement
as a historic and empowering event for Japan.
He also expressed thanks and appreciation to
the numerous social contributions of MWL,
wishing further cooperation in the future
through the halal project.
He also praised the role the League is
playing in raising the awareness of Muslim
communities in Japan and in the Islamic
world, and promoting their integration into
non-Muslim communities.
Al-Issa participated earlier in a ceremony
held to mark the seventh anniversary of the
tsunami that hit Sendai city, northern Japan,
in 2011 and visited the Sendai School for
Orphans, which shelters children who had
lost their parents in the tsunami.
The UK-based
Deliveroo food
delivery service
joins GrabFood
and Foodpanda
in providing
well as a strategic one to tap into the wide
pool of halal restaurants in Singapore so that
we are able to offer an even greater range of
options to our customers,” said Siddharth
Shanker, general manager of Deliveroo
Singapore.
The delivery service currently has 200
halal-certified restaurant partners on its
platform, out of close to 4,000 restaurants in
total.
“We have sourced these bags from a
third-party supplier who ensures that they
are sturdy and can prevent any leakage or
potential contamination from other foods.
“All our riders have been thoroughly
briefed to use the halal-only bags when
assigned to an order from a halal-certified
restaurant. On top of the halal-only bag,
the orders are packaged individually by the
restaurants, which adds an additional layer
of protection,” Shanker added.
Deliveroo follows arch rival GrabFood in
offering separate bags for halal food. GrabFood
emerged after its Uber ride-share patron
merged with Grab earlier this year. They have
been offering these services in Singapore and
Malaysia since it launched in May.
Another online delivery major, Foodpanda,
also keeps halal food separate during its
deliveries. It has more than 800 halal-certified
establishments in its Singapore network.
“We are constantly looking to increase the
number of halal options available on our plat-
form to provide our customers with the food
they love, and recently added KFC,” told Luc
Andreani, managing director of Foodpanda
Singapore.
It seems like the support for halal food
and beverage in Singapore is strengthening,
nurturing the importance of the overall halal
trade at an international level.halal-friendly
delivery services to Singaporeans.