Products Quality Religious-Ethnical Requirements and Certification

The orientation towards the value of quality is a new trend of modern quality management sciences. The quality value orientations (national, social, religious, government bodies, market participants, and consumers) and quality culture are rather important in the global economical collaboration and trade, as well as in the international communication on the business, scientific or personal level. The orientations towards the value of quality are manifested in different aspects, such as customer preferences, the use of different management methods and systems, product and service consumption, assortment of goods, business lunch traditions, etc. The sphere where the relationship between the religion and quality is more than obvious – it is religious-ethnical quality, hygiene, ethical and certification control regulation of the Muslim halal products and Jewish kosher products. Unfortunately, the majority of European quality sciences textbooks and scientific articles do not baselessly include religious-ethnical products, quality and certification aspects. Quality sciences and quality academics must always be pioneers in innovations of management measures for business practice and society. Today this quality field is very important for business development of all European countries. This sort of certification can be directed to both products and their manufacturers. The article analyzes particularly one of the fastest growing products certification – halal certification. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the requirements for products manufactured for religious markets and also to prepare a working system to help manufacturers fit the requirements of halal certification. Methods. Analysis and comparison of halal certification requirements and quality assurance guidelines from different countries and institutions; analysis of scientific literature surveying the field of halal certification; the investigation; survey of halal certificated Lithuanian companies and questioning of the consumers. Author’s analysis shows that religious-ethnical requirements considering hygiene and product safety are mostly compatible with corresponding “elite” requirements. The importance of the halal product business is proved by the well-known international organization of quality and ethics of agricultural products and food standardization “Codex Alimentarius”, which belongs to World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) since 1997, it dedicates part of its developments to Muslim and Jewish products mentioned above. Unfortunately, the specific quality and certification requirements of halal and kosher products are little known by the majority of European businessmen. This fact, in our opinion, has a negative impact on the development and competitiveness of this business niche. Several Lithuanian companies already manufacture and export kosher products (veal, strong alcohol drinks, and flour products) and halal products (milk powder, starch, flour products, pharmaceutical herbs, etc.). The system of the halal certification preparation, implementation and support is presented, analyzed and discussed in the article. The results of a study that aimed to reveal realization and development prospects of halal products in such non-Muslim country as Lithuania are given here as well.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.17.2.2210