Jakim and DagangHalal launch halal-verified engine, powered by Microsoft

• World’s first halal certificate verification built entirely on Microsoft cloud technology
• Expedites halal certification process; links with 73 other authorities across the world

THE Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and DagangHalal Berhad (DHB) have launched the Halal Verified Engine (HVE), which they said was the world’s first online system designed to help expedite the halal certification process for applicants.
 
Built on Microsoft Corp’s Windows Azure and SQL Server, HVE would also allow the public to “verify with just one click” the veracity and validity of halal certificates from 73 international verification bodies recognised by Jakim, for both local and imported products, Microsoft Malaysia said in a statement.
 
“Malaysia is proud to chalk yet another world’s first with the Halal Verified Engine – especially as a leading example of a modern Islamic country that successfully integrates technology innovation and our religious obligations,” said Major General Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister In the Prime Minister’s Department.
 
“HVE is [also] a significant contribution to the nation’s economic success as a trailblazer in the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth US$2.1 trillion with an annual growth rate forecast of 12% to 15% over the next 10 years,” he said at the official launch of HVE.
 
HVE is a collaborative effort between Jakim and DHB, using Microsoft cloud technology, to simplify the halal certificate application and renewal process by allowing applicants to search, view, and download genuine halal certification of products and ingredients in the supply chain.
 
Halal applicants can also use HVE's extensive database to source for alternative suppliers that are halal-certified, Microsoft Malaysia said.
 
Aside from Jakim's own database, the system boasts a Global Halal Network that will be populated with up-to-date information from all 73 international certification bodies recognised by Jakim, including CICOT (Thailand), HFCE (Belgium),FIANZ (New Zealand) and HCA (Vietnam).
 
“Halal certification is a mark of confidence for the 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. However, the process for certification by the applicants in the past was rather tedious and manual-based,” said Jamil.
 
“For example, if you wanted to produce or import a food product and certify it as halal, you needed to track down the halal certificates for your entire supply chain; such as for each and every ingredient supplier.
 
“In the past, this meant contacting via phone, fax or even email for various suppliers and also ensuring that the certificates provided were genuine and still valid. Now, through the power of cloud technology, HVE has simplified this process greatly and reduce the turnaround time from up to a few months to just a few clicks.
 
“Besides that, the system can also recommend alternative suppliers to the applicant if their original suppliers no longer have a valid halal certificate,” he added.
 
The general public as well as Jakim’s own internal processes stand to gain from HVE, said DHB chairman Muhadzir Mohd Isa.
 
“For the general public, they now have a trusted source where they can verify whether a particular product or ingredient is halal-certified or not,” he said.
 
“Jakim’s own processes will be simplified with HVE as well. In the past, they had to manually verify the halal certificates that were issued from other countries. The communication exchange when reaching out to their counterparts around the world also added to the time taken to verify these certificates.
 
“Now, with a few simple clicks … they have a sleek dashboard to easily reference-check the halal certificates even if they were issued by other countries,” he added.
 
“HVE is a great testament to the power of cutting-edge technology in improving efficiency and effectiveness,” said Microsoft Malaysia managing director Carlos Lacerda.
 
Besides providing verification of halal certificates, HVE further allows users across the world to rate and review products within its database. Also, the system’s advanced artificial intelligence, based on collective learning technology, is able to learn, identify and recommend the best alternative products to users based on their user behaviour and preference choice, according to Microsoft Malaysia.
 
Over time, the public will be able to share and acquire the most accurate information of halal products worldwide, the company claimed.
 
To maintain the trustworthiness of halal certificates downloaded through the site, several security measures were also built in, especially to combat forgery through readily available image manipulation software:
 

• Two-level password safeguards for certificates – both at ZIP Folder level as well as PDF file level;

• Watermark of applicant’s company name and purpose of application; and

• Download information and accompanying QR code to verify validity of certificate file. The HVE QR Code checker is available as a smartphone app across all major smartphone platforms.

HVE was developed by DHB as a result of a memorandum of agreement signed between Jakim and DHB in April 2012. DHB has also established DagangHalal.com, which it claimed was (www.daganghalal.com) which is one of the world's largest online Halal marketplaces.
 
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