Emirates International Accreditation Centre expanding to accommodate rise in applications from certifying bodies

Photo: Prime Certification & Inspection LLC Asia Pacific is the first accredited halal certifying body based in the Philippines. It officially received its accreditation certificate on February 20, 2018 from executive director of the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC), Amina Ahmed Mohammed (middle). Prime was represented by its CEO Mary Jane Alvero (left), managing director Engineer Salah Ameen Mohammed (second from left) and chairman Abdullatif Abdulla Ali Al Gargawi. Salaam Gateway/Emmy Abdul Alim

DUBAI - The Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) is expanding this year to accommodate the rise in applications from UAE- and foreign-based certifying bodies, its executive director Amina Ahmed Mohammed told Salaam Gateway.

Officially launched in January 2017, EIAC, formerly known as the Dubai Accreditation Centre (DAC), accredits certifiers for a range of activities, including halal.

“For 2018 we have accredited five certifying bodies and still, we have more than 15 applications pending. We expect to accredit more than 20 certifying bodies by the end of this year,” said Mohammed.

All five certifying bodies (CBs) accredited by EIAC so far this year are halal CBs: Halal Consulting from Spain, the Australian Halal Development and Accreditation – Tanzania, Oromiya Region Islamic Affairs Supreme Council from Ethiopia, Philippines-based Prime Certification & Inspection LLC Asia Pacific, and Dubai-based Prime Certification & Inspection LLC UAE.

EIAC is one of the six halal accreditation bodies approved by the national standards setter Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), according to the authority’s website.

39 halal certification bodies are currently approved by ESMA, 11 of which were accredited by EIAC, according to the ESMA website.

EIAC will hire more permanent staff this year to accommodate its increasing workload, said Mohammed.

“We have enough staff but we need more. We have 30 existing staff and in sha Allah this year we will have 15 more,” she said.

To support its work of accrediting foreign certification bodies, the centre outsources contracts to more than 150 experts from outside the UAE on a non-permanent basis, said Mohammed.

(Reporting by Emmy Abdul Alim [email protected]; Editing by Seban Scaria)

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