Over the past two years, plant-based food consumption has grown by 49% across the EU, reaching a total sales volume of €3.6 billion.
France: Establishing the first French halal food standard
2025-05-15
Establishing Halal Food Standards
French Standardization Association (Afnor)At9moon15The first French halal food processing standard was unveiled on Friday. AFP AFPAfnorOfficials said the standard was set at the request of French manufacturers in the food industry to promote the export of certain products, and that Muslim certification bodies affiliated with mosques in Paris, Lyon and Évry also participated in the process.AfnorSaid: “To enable the industry to conduct its own risk analysis for halal certification, identifying the critical steps that could render its non-halal production halal, a manufacturing process was developed.
While the standard is experimental and voluntary, not mandatory, and due to community tensions and political awareness surrounding halal, some major disputes have arisen as actors seek to develop, but the conditions under which animal products are slaughtered remain important to Muslims.
While it defines a unified approach to halal (according to Muslim law) standards, it covers only part of the downstream production process from raw materials to processed products such as canned food, prepared foods, frozen meats and confectionery. Furthermore, it does not have a list of prohibited items, even though some are prohibited, such as pork and alcohol.
"The role of this standard is not to decide on definitions, what is prohibited and what is allowed, we provide a guideline to adapt to customer requirements, so the subject of the standard is to guide good operating practices and analyze risks." Ministry of AgricultureAFNORDepartment HeadNadine Normandexplain.
6000billion dollar market
"The establishment of the first standard is crucial from the industry's perspective. Until now, we have had to accept requests from customers and we have not been able to make any proposals because there is no standard in France." AFPEldjida Makhloufiexplained to AFP.
The standard is based on seven specific articles from the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and “should prevent the occurrence of non-halal ingredients entering the final product.” The standard states: “The idea is a think tank, a tool that will allow us to move forward and give confidence to companies that want to export.
“The market is expanding day by day, and our competitors have occupied the market that we should have shared, and accused France of not having relevant halal standards.”In fact, the halal market is set to break world records and is expected to reach6000billion dollars. In France alone2010The halal market is expected to reach55100 million euros, of which45100 million from food products, specializing in market researchStepSaid.