Governments, not private certifiers, will shape the future of Halal certification. Indonesia makes certification mandatory for imported and small-business food from Oct. 18, 2026; Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE now decide which foreign certifiers count; and laboratory testing and digital registries make claims easier to check. The likely result is fewer, more tightly supervised certifiers and more paperwork for exporters.
This article was first published in April 2023. It has been updated with Indonesia’s 2026 rules, current recognition data from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, standard-setting by the OIC’s standards body, evidence on testing technology and the latest market data.
The stakes are large. Muslims spent $1.53 trillion on food in 2024, and that spending is forecast to reach $2.06 trillion by 2029, according to DinarStandard’s State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2025/26. A certificate that an importing country does not accept can shut a supplier out of a share of that market overnight.
Five forces reshaping Halal certification
Five developments explain where the industry is heading. Each is already in force or under way.
| Force | What is happening | What it means for exporters |
|---|---|---|
| Government mandates | Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Law phases in compulsory certification by product category through 2034 | Certification becomes a market-access requirement, not a marketing choice |
| Recognition lists | JAKIM, Saudi Arabia’s SFDA, Indonesia’s BPJPH and the UAE decide which foreign certifiers they accept | The certifier’s name on the certificate matters as much as the audit |
| Harmonized standards | The OIC’s standards body, SMIIC, has published 21 Halal standards | Slow convergence; national standards still differ |
| Laboratory testing | DNA tests can detect small amounts of pork in processed food | More product testing and fewer disputes settled on paper alone |
| Digital records | Online certificate registries and shipment-level documents | More data to file per shipment; easier verification by buyers |
Government mandates are replacing voluntary schemes
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority market, is moving the industry from voluntary to compulsory certification. Under Government Regulation 42 of 2024, food and beverages made by micro and small businesses, and imported food and beverages, must be certified by Oct. 17, 2026, according to BPJPH, Indonesia’s Halal agency. BPJPH’s head, Ahmad Haikal Hasan, told Parliament in June that there would be no postponement and that the requirement applies from Oct. 18, 2026.
The rules keep tightening after a product is certified. A BPJPH regulation in force since Sept. 9, 2026, requires each shipment of certified imports to carry a Halal product assurance report from a foreign Halal body in the country of origin, and another requires products that contain non-Halal ingredients to be labeled “non-halal,” according to the German-Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Deadlines for other product categories, including some medicines, run to Oct. 17, 2034.
The scale of the system is already large. By Oct. 6, 2025, BPJPH had issued 2.79 million certificates covering 9.6 million products, working with 108 inspection bodies and 1,778 registered auditors, the agency said.
Recognition lists decide which certificates count
For exporters, the most important change is that importing governments now vet the certifiers themselves. Malaysia’s JAKIM withdrew recognition from three foreign bodies in February 2025, in China, Croatia and France, leaving 85 recognized bodies in 47 countries, according to the state broadcaster RTM. More than 10 foreign bodies were awaiting JAKIM audits in September 2025, Bernama reported. Readers can compare those rules with how Malaysian halal certification works for domestic producers.
Trade deals have not loosened those controls. After Malaysia’s trade agreement with the United States in November 2025, Religious Affairs Minister Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said its halal clause remained subject to Malaysian standards and that JAKIM could withdraw recognition from U.S. certifiers that fail them, Sinar Harian reported. In February 2026, Indonesia’s cabinet secretary said the U.S.-Indonesia reciprocal trade agreement did not exempt American food from halal certification, Bernama reported.
Saudi Arabia accepts halal certificates for imports only from foreign bodies recognized by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, which publishes its list online. In the UAE, a certifier must be accredited and registered with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. The growing number of separate lists is the central problem examined in our analysis of fragmented halal certification and mutual recognition.
Standards are converging slowly
The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), the OIC’s standards body, had 49 members and had published 81 standards, 21 of them on halal, according to its 2025 report to the OIC’s economic committee. SMIIC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Forum for Halal Accreditation Bodies in December 2025, and Oman’s membership takes effect in 2027, the Oman Observer reported.
Convergence has limits. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Gulf states continue to apply their own standards and recognition procedures, so a single global halal certificate remains unlikely in the near term. Businesses deciding what halal certification requires still need to check each target market separately.
Testing and digital records make claims easier to check
Laboratory methods are now precise enough to catch adulteration that paperwork misses. A study published in Meat Science in 2012 used real-time PCR, a DNA test, to detect pork at 1 percent by weight in marshmallows and gum drops. Indonesia’s main audit body, LPPOM MUI, tests both gelatin raw materials and finished softgels for pork DNA, according to its laboratory expert, Priyo Wahyudi.
Digital systems are spreading more unevenly. Foreign certificates for Indonesia are registered in BPJPH’s online SIHALAL system, according to a manual published by Japan’s trade agency, JETRO. Blockchain traceability has been promoted for years, and Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, urged its use for halal certification in 2024, OpenGov Asia reported, but no national halal regulator has made it a requirement.
The United States: no federal standard, a patchwork of state laws
The United States has no federal halal standard. New Jersey passed the first state halal consumer protection law in 2000, followed by Minnesota in 2001 and Illinois, according to a Michigan House bill analysis; Michigan’s law makes misrepresentation a misdemeanor under MCL 750.297f. These laws focus on disclosure and fraud; they do not define who may certify.
American certifiers with long track records, including IFANCA, which says it has worked on halal since 1982, and Islamic Services of America, which describes itself as the longest-standing U.S. halal certification body, now compete for recognition by foreign regulators as much as for clients.
Analysis: what this means for businesses
The direction is toward certification as regulated market access. Exporters should expect to choose certifiers by their recognition in each destination, to budget for shipment-level documents and product testing, and to recheck recognition lists before every contract, because they change. For certifiers, accreditation and recognition by Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are becoming the main competitive advantage.
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