may-june. 2020 | @Halal
Innovation
15
law and fatwa.
b) do not contain anything which is najs
according to Shariah law and fatwa;
c) do not intoxicate according to Shariah
Law and fatwa;
d) do not contain any part of a human being
or its yield which are not allowed by Shariah
law and fatwa;
e) are not poisonous or hazardous to health;
f) have not been prepared, processed or
manufactured using any instrument that
is contaminated with najis according to
Shariah law and fatwa; and
g) have not in the course of preparing, processing
or storing been in contact with,
mixed, or close to any materials that fail
to satisfy items 3.4 (a) and (b)
From the above definition, halal cosmetic
products must use only halal ingredients.
The material used is the most critical factor
in halal cosmetic.
Although cosmetic products mostly are
made of chemical, several critical components
should be taken with great scrutiny,
for example, the use of stem cell, placenta,
collagen, peptide, glycerine, vitamin,
allantoin etc. This is because all of these
ingredients could come from animal sources.
They could come from bovine, porcine, fish
etc. When any of these ingredients is used,
the company should attach the application
with relevant supporting documents such
as a certificate of origin, process flow, safety
data sheets etc.
The way the products are prepared also
should be taken into account that all process
involved must be following Shariah law. The
Guidelines for Control of Cosmetic Products
in Malaysia is very pertinent as a reference
for notification process including quality
control, inspection and post-market surveillance
activities of cosmetics.
The Guidelines specifies, among others,
requirements on cosmetic ingredients,
labeling requirements, cosmetic claims,
advertisement used for the products, safety
assessment, GMP etc. are essential, especially
in cosmetic products where the chemicals
are used in most of the product formulations.
All of these elements are crucial for the
‘toyyiban’ feature, which is also an integral
part of halal.
Cosmetic notification system
as a pre-requisite to Halal
application
To apply for Malaysia’s halal certification,
applicants must ensure their products have
been notified with the National Pharmaceutical
Regulatory Agency (NPRA). It is NPRA’s
responsibility, among others, to implement
the cosmetic notification scheme through
evaluation of technical data, laboratory analysis,
research and information received from
international agencies. Notification number
is unique for each product and its variant (if
any) in this format : NOTyymmxxxxxK (y:
year, m: month, x: serial number).
After getting the notification system by
NPRA then only the company can apply
for halal certification by JAKIM, the halal
authority in Malaysia that issues halal
certificates.
The obligations imposed on the cosmetic
producers show that under the halal and
toyyiban cosmetic regime, the responsibility
of the producer or manufacturer of products
is the utmost importance.
This self-regulatory scheme means they
must ensure that their production is safe,
of quality products, do not contain haram
ingredients. The responsibility of the
producer does not stop after the product is
released into the market.
They also have a duty to monitor the
products when they are in the market. This
is because the insights of halal cosmetic
control in Malaysia come together with
the enforcement activities by the relevant
regulatory authorities so that strict adherence
to halal and safety system could be
safeguarded.
Here, NPRA will carry out post-market
surveillance activities. It entails screening
of product formulation and information to
ensure that cosmetics do not contain any
prohibited or harmful substances. And, all
restricted ingredients are used within the
allowable limits and conditions of use.
Screening criteria also include the product
name and its claimed benefits, sample
collection and testing, monitoring of label
compliance, the audit of premises for compliance
to the Cosmetic GMP and handling
of product complaints.
Other surveillance activities conducted
by NPRA are monitoring of advertisements,
monitoring of adverse reactions, audit on the
Product Information File (known as PIF), risk
communication as well as information sharing
through ASEAN countries in a system
called ASEAN Post Marketing Alert System
(PMAS).
Under the Guidelines for Control of
Cosmetic Products in Malaysia, it has
been specified that Halal logo may be used
voluntarily on a notified cosmetic product,
Freepik
Cosmetics are
produced on a
larger scale, and
their sales are now
astounding.”
for both local and export markets. This is
provided the product has been certified and
approved Halal by JAKim) or any Foreign
Islamic Body recognised by JAKIM.
However, it must be noted that halal
application in Malaysia is only voluntary.
For cosmetic manufacturers, they are not
obliged to apply for halal certification before
they wish to market their products.
However, the recent data showed that
applications for halal cosmetic certification
had grown year by year. According to
JAKIM, from the year 2013, there were only
four applications, but it has increased to 194
applications for the next year, i.e. 2014. The
year 2016 has seen a tremendous difference.
The number of applications shot up to 425
compared to only 290 a year before. Although
the multi-national industry leads applications
at 39.9 per cent, the percentage of the
medium and small enterprises has a good
number as well.
This can be shown by a total of 25 per cent
application was from the medium industry
while a total of 35.1 per cent is from the small
industry.
What is interesting in the data is that as
for cosmetic and personal care products,
the majority of Halal certification holder
are non-Bumiputra (177 ) compared to
Bumiputra that is only 55. As of March 2017,
2237 cosmetic products are halal certified by
Malaysia’s halal certification authority. Out
of 2237, 41.5 per cent is skincare products, 23.1
per cent is body care products, 16.5 per cent
is hair care, 9.7 per cent is perfume, 4.3 per
cent is for make-up, 2.3 per cent is baby care
products and lastly, for intimate products
1.7 per cent.
Benefits of Halal Cosmetics
In recent years, the demand for halal
cosmetic and personal care products has
increased, particularly among the Muslim
consumers as a symbol for quality assurance
and lifestyle choice.
Halal cosmetic offers more significant
market share, including non-Muslim
consumers. This is because halal signifies
wholesomeness and high quality due to
rigorous controls and checks throughout the
supply chain, which denotes that the products
are safe and of quality products.
The implementation of the cosmetic halal
standard in Malaysia is crucial as it creates
practical guidelines for halal certification
and halal logo. The strict criteria imposed in
the Halal cosmetic standard will ensure that
JAKIM and MAIN/JAIN will only issue halal
certificates to products which are halalan
toyyiban.
Further, the halal standard also serves as
a mechanism to monitor and enforce the
halal certification integrity. As such, necessary
action will be taken against any halal
certificate holder who fails to comply with
this standard.
Moreover, the implementation of
cosmetic halal standard may also raise
confidence among the consumer.
Furthermore, the Halal cosmetic standard
provides comprehensive guidelines for production,
preparation, handling and storage
of halal product, and this ensures that the
cosmetics products are clean, pure, nutritious,
hygienic and healthy. As for cosmetics
industry players, halal cosmetic can improve
product are marketability and competitiveness
in both the local and global market.
Malaysian halal standards are recognised
in the worldwide market.
By complying to this standard, the manufacturers
indicate to their target consumers
that their products meet the Islamic criteria.
The potential market of halal-certified cosmetics
is vast, this includes both country
markets where the Muslim population make
up the majority and country markets where
Muslims consumers are the minority.