A summary of the latest halal industry news from around the world.

Halal fast-food outlets expand in the USA

New York restaurant chain Halal Guys is continuing to expand its franchises in the state of Ohio, with the first location under construction in Dublin, Columbus Alive reported. Other Mediterranean fast-food brands are opening in the Midwest state, including the Hummus & Pita Co. The Halal Guys are to open their 100 th location in Pittsburgh this year. In California, a halal Mexican food truck, El Halal Amigos, has opened a brick-and-mortar outlet in San Jose, Quick Telecast reported. The chef-owner Hisham Abdelfattah, a Filipino-Palestinian, founded El Halal Amigos in 2020.

Thailand and Serbia to bolster halal food exports to Saudi Arabia

Thailand’s Commerce Ministry is developing a plan to export halal chicken and food to Saudi Arabia, the Bangkok Post reported. The two countries are holding meetings to expand and promote sales of Thai products in Saudi supermarkets. In 2021, bilateral trade reached $7.30 billion, up 31.8% from $5.53 billion the year before. Exports from Thailand accounted for $1.63 billion and imports made up $5.66 billion, the report noted. Meanwhile, Serbia has signed an agreement to export agricultural products to the kingdom, See News reported. Agriculture minister Branislav Nedimovic said in an interview with state broadcaster RTS TV that Saudi Arabia had opened up to Serbian products including beef, lamb, milk and dairy products, Nedimovic.

Moscow Halal Congress kicks off

Starting today in Moscow, the 29th International Exhibition of Food, Drinks and Raw Materials for their Production, Prodexpo-2022, will run until 11 February. The XII International Halal Congress will be held on 7 February on the topic “Standardization and Certification as an Effective Development of the Halal Industry”, Trend News reported. Speakers will include representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology, the Federal Accreditation Service, embassies of Muslim countries, research institutes, and businesses and specialized organizations of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The winners of "The Best Halal Product 2022" will be awarded at the end of the Congress, according to the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Russian Federation.

UAE wealth funds to invest $10 bn in Israel

UAE wealth funds are looking to invest up to $10 billion in Israel over the next decade, Bloomberg reported. ADQ is reportedly planning to invest $2 billion through Abu Dhabi Growth Fund. ADQ, which has an estimated $110 billion in assets under management, has invested in the Israeli lab-grown meat company Aleph Farms.

Muslim students call for more halal food options at Northwestern campus

Students at US university Northwestern have complained about the lack of halal food options and transparency, the Daily Northwestern reported. Efforts are underway to establish a halal dining committee within the Muslim-cultural Students Association. “We brought up all of the concerns that everyone’s been saying and tried to organize them into different categories,” said student Assem Belhadj. “One was mislabeling, the other was lack of options and then the other one was cross contamination. There’s definitely this gap between what’s going on behind the scenes and what students feel.” Over in Singapore, students have also complained about “the halal food situation” at Nanyang Technological University, the Mothership reported.

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