EXCLUSIVE!! THAI'S HALAL KITCHEN AT ITS CATERING SERVICES UNIT

NOTE from the BlogMaster
Hi, and welcome to my first EXCLUSIVE column of this blog. As announced, I would like to add some features to my Blog and I think this column is very good for being the first one. Eventhough I am not an Islamic, I also think this is the one BIG step forward. Finally, please be sure that this doesn't mean that I will stop updating my series, I will continue updating them as I was.

**THAI FULLY OPERATES CERTIFIED ‘HALAL’ FOOD KITCHEN**

 

Responding to growing demand from thousands of Muslim travelers every day, Thai Airways International Public Company Limited today (1st February 2008), signed an MoU with the Islamic Committee of Samut Prakarn Province to receive permission for usage of the Halal Logo by Central Islamic Committee of Thailand.
This means that Thai Airways International’s “Halal” kitchen is now fully certified to ensure conformity with the permissible dietary requirements under Islamic law. “Halal” food is the Islamic equivalent of the Jewish “kosher” food, and has to meet its regulatory standards at every step from purchasing to production and preparation.
The “Halal” kitchen set up by THAI Catering Services operates as an entirely separate unit from the regular catering facility at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The kitchen earlier received the Halal Food Certificate from the Institute for Halal Food Standard of Thailand (Halal Thai), on 1 January 2008.
THAI flies daily to numerous cities in countries with large Islamic populations, such as UAE, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Oman, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam and Indian’s destinations. In addition to the demand from Muslim passengers, THAI also provides meals for 10 customer airlines, which are national carriers of Islamic-majority countries. Total demand is for an estimated 5,000 Halal meals per day, with more growth projected in future.

++THE INSTITUTE FOR HALAL FOOD STANDARD OF THAILAND (HALAL-THAI)++

Was established by the Regulation of the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand Regarding the Establishment of the Institute for Halal Food Standard of Thailand B.E 2546, in order to empower Thailand’s competitiveness as one of the Halal Food Hub of the region.
Historically, Halal food affairs in Thailand have been undertaken for more than 50 years. The Central Islamic Committee of Thailand and The Provincial Islamic Committee are authorized to act as the principle bodies of Halal food certification.
In 2003, the organization was restructured towards establishing a special body as so called “ The Institute for Halal Food Standard of Thailand (Halal-Thai)” under supervision of the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand, this Institute works through the Executive Committee composed of Islamic scholars, high experienced professionals and experts in various fields with potential teamwork with doctorate, master and bachelor degree to create the best performance as to attain the Institute ‘s vision.
The Halal-Thai is a national agency engaged in standard development, screening, monitoring, verification and tracing of all Halal food to be in accordance with Islamic law (Shariah) as well as internationally accepted and reliable food standards (Codex, HACCP and GMP)
This is example of the Certification issued by HALAL-THAI:

Click here for more information on HALAL-THAI and Click here for more on HALAL Certificate Guide
++What's the management says++
Mrs. Pismai Chandrubeksa, Managing Director, Catering Services, said that meeting the special dietary requirements of its passengers is a very important part of the airline’s customer service. Demand has been growing steadily over the years to the point where it became necessary to set up a Halal Kitchen as a separate unit from the regular kitchen in its own right.
Therefore, THAI's Halal Kitchen at Suvarnabhumi Airport began serving Halal meals for Muslim customer airlines and THAI's international flights departing fromSuvarnabhumi Airport based on customre's pre-order, effective as of 1 January 2008. For further information and reservations, passengers may contact THAI’s 24-hour Call Center at tel. 0-2356-1111
SO... if you are Muslim, feel free to visit Thailand, we can guarantee you the quality and plenty (and tasty) of our HALAL food.
References: 1. THAI AIRWAYS WEBSITE 2. THE INSTITUTE FOR HALAL FOOD STANDARD OF THAILAND (HALAL-THAI) WEBSITE 3. KINNAREE MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2008.

This Exclusive Column is presented to you by PY106.