Certification FAQs

Three things have to hold at once: every ingredient and processing aid must be permissible, anything of animal origin must come from a permitted species slaughtered correctly, and the product must not be contaminated by non-halal material at any point in manufacture, storage or transport. Certification tests all three, which is why we review the formulation and visit the site.

No. Certification can be scoped to specific lines, products or shifts, provided segregation and cleaning controls are demonstrable. The certificate then states exactly what it covers. The exception is pork and pork derivatives: where these are handled, a certified product needs a dedicated line and a validated cleaning regime.

Yes. The certificate is issued in the brand owner’s name and scoped to their SKUs at a named co-manufacturing site, which is audited as part of the certification.

Six to ten weeks for a first certification with a cooperative supply chain. The technical review is the stage that sets the pace, and slow supplier declarations are the most common cause of delay.

It depends on the number of sites, the number of products and the audit days the scope requires. We quote a fixed figure before you commit, broken into application and review, audit days, and the annual certification fee. We do not charge a royalty on sales.

Not automatically. Intoxicating drink is prohibited outright. Alcohol used as a processing solvent or flavour carrier is assessed against the ruling adopted by our Shariah board, which considers the source, the function and the residual level in the finished product. We will tell you the position that applies to your formulation during the technical review.

Our slaughter standard sets out which stunning methods, if any, are acceptable and under what conditions, including reversibility and the requirement that the animal be alive at slaughter. Some export markets impose stricter conditions than our baseline; we will tell you which applies to your destination markets.

Notify us before you use it. Most changes are cleared by desk review within a few days. Using an unreviewed material in a certified product is a major non-conformity and can lead to suspension.

Surveillance activity within the certification cycle may be announced or unannounced. Refusing access to an auditor during a scheduled or unannounced visit is grounds for suspension.

Our standards are written against internationally referenced requirements and we issue the consignment documentation exporters need. Acceptance in a specific destination depends on that country’s recognition arrangements, so tell us your markets early and we will confirm what we can support for each one.

On packaging for certified products, yes, with artwork approval before printing. On corporate material, only where it is clear which products are certified. The mark may not be used to imply that an entire business is certified when the scope covers part of it.

Every NAFAH certificate carries a number and a QR code that resolves to its record on our site, showing scope, facility, dates and current status. A certificate whose details do not match that record should be reported to us.

Any certified client may appeal. Appeals are heard by people who were not involved in the original decision, and the procedure is issued with the application pack.