Part of the Ibrahim Holdings, Fahim Technologies announced yesterday that it was working with the local government to develop the province as the first hub for its halal integrity management solution in China.
According to the announcement, the collaboration would see the two entities form a joint venture, Ningxia Fahim International Halal Industry Co Ltd, which would offer the halal service for food products in China.
The joint venture will begin its operations for food products in the province first, before looking to expand to the rest of China.
Halal tracking
The IBM-developed halal integrity management solution, according to the company, can track halal product inflow from the source to end-users through the entire value chain and monitor halal status of products to ensure food safety.
While calls and emails to Fahim Technologies went unanswered, a spokesperson for the Ningxia Comprehensive Agricultural Investment Co Ltd told FoodNavigator-Asia that the joint venture will be up and running in six months.
The Ningxia Autonomous Region government owns Ningxia Comprehensive Agricultural Investment. The company acts as a special purpose vehicle that forms partnerships for investments into the province’s food and agri sector.
According to the spokesperson, the Fahim halal integrity service would help allay fears in the Chinese market about food product safety, and create more confidence in Chinese Muslims about halal food made in China.
“Being a Muslim-dominated province, the expectation is that the province would create a template for other provinces with Muslim populations to set up a thriving domestic halal foods industry,” he said.
He added that halal food is being targeted at non-Muslim segments, who regard such food to be ‘more pure’ than regular items, especially meat, and chicken.