KUALA LUMPUR: Olympics host Japan is going for gold in a race against time to train 1,000 chefs in halal food preparation for the summer 2020 Games.
With 5 million Muslim visitors from the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia expected to descend on Tokyo for the sporting spectacular, which takes place between July and September, Japan has teamed up with Malaysia to introduce Muslim-friendly standards (MFS) for the Japanese food industry.
“Most Muslim tourists would want to try Japanese food,” said Keith Wong, CEO of Acrosx Malaysia, which has been appointed to the halal expert training committee of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to help develop halal versions of Japanese dishes.
Demand for halal Japanese food was booming and Wong told Arab News: “Tempura is popular among Middle Easterners and in South Asia, while ramen and unagi (eels) are popular among Muslims from Southeast Asia. Sashimi and sushi are very popular among all Muslims.”
He pointed out that MFS were needed because the number of halal restaurants in Japan was currently insufficient to cater for all visitor preferences during the Olympics.
The Japanese government has partnered with Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation to have more than 1,000 chefs trained in preparing halal food and become MFS-certified.
“We are aiming to train 500 restaurants for ‘Muslim-friendly’ certification for the Olympics,” Wong said, adding that MFS were even stricter than general halal standards.
Restaurants adopting MFS would be required to have a separate halal kitchen and provide different utensils for Muslim customers.
The Japanese chefs and restaurant operators taking part in the training will learn about the history of Islam, halal food storage and cooking methods.
The global halal industry is estimated to be worth around $2 trillion, and the Japanese see Muslim travelers as being more valuable than Chinese tourists, Wong said. “Chinese travelers to Japan would usually spend money on high-end, luxury goods. While Muslim travelers, with their friends and family, would spend money on food, lodgings and tourism.”
He noted that the MFS partnership with Malaysia was expected to extend beyond the 2020 Olympic Games.
“We will be aiming for the World Expo 2025 in Osaka,” he said, adding that Japan may become a global and high-quality player in the halal industry.
Japan joins Malaysia in Olympics race to train 1,000 halal chefs for 2020 summer Games
https://arab.news/gq44z
Japan joins Malaysia in Olympics race to train 1,000 halal chefs for 2020 summer Games
- Japan has teamed up with Malaysia to introduce Muslim-friendly standards (MFS) for the Japanese food industry
- The MFS partnership with Malaysia is expected to extend beyond the 2020 Olympic Games
International baby milk recall leads to French legal action
- Eight French families have joined a lawsuit filed by Foodwatch
- The complaint, while not naming the manufacturers or government agencies, calls for a legal investigation
PARIS: A recall of potentially contaminated infant milk formula in some 60 countries has taken a legal turn in France after a watchdog and eight families filed a lawsuit accusing manufacturers and the government of acting too slowly.
Eight French families, who said their babies suffered severe digestive problems after drinking formula named in the recall, have joined a lawsuit filed by Foodwatch, which AFP has seen.
The complaint, while not naming the manufacturers or government agencies, calls for a legal investigation.
Foodwatch, a European consumer association, believes that producers could not have ignored the risks to babies by leaving their milk on sale in France and in more than a dozen European countries, as well as in Australia, Russia, Qatar or Egypt.
Several manufacturers, including giants like Nestle, Danone, and Lactalis have issued recalls of infant formula in more than 60 countries, including France, since December due to a risk of cereulide contamination.
Cereulide, a toxin produced by certain bacteria, is “likely to cause primarily digestive problems, such as vomiting or diarrhea,” according to the French health ministry, though it said last week it so far had not determined a link to the symptoms experienced by the infants.
In the complaint, Foodwatch accuses milk powder manufacturers of delaying action between the initial warnings in December and the recalls, some of which were not widely publicized. They became more widespread in January.
Foodwatch believes that parents were told too little, too late, and in a confusing manner. French agriculture minister Annie Genevard said however that procedures had been “very well followed.”
Two separate criminal investigations have already been opened in France following the deaths of two infants who consumed infant formula recalled by Nestle due to “possible contamination” by a bacterial substance, although no “causal link” has yet been established, according to authorities.
Authorities are accused in the Foodwatch complaint of delaying action and of deficiencies in their controls.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced meanwhile that it had been asked by the European Commission to establish a standard for cereulide in children’s products. It will issue an opinion on February 2.
