September 5, 2012

Indonesia accredits Zenkai Meat's beef as halal

Indonesia has accredited Zenkai Meat Corporation's beef as halal, or appropriate for consumption by the country's Muslims, making the Kumamoto Prefecture meatpacker the first Japanese firm to obtain such certification outside Japan.

Zenkai Meat Corp. President Shinichi Hagiwara said Tuesday (Sep 4), "We hope to begin exporting to Indonesia on a trial basis in October."

The company aims to ship 100 tonnes of beef from Kumamoto and other areas of Kyushu Island in the first year, targeting restaurants and hotels catering to affluent customers.

Zenkai says it wants to further expand its exports because the halal accreditation in Indonesia is valid in more than 20 other Muslim countries.