Muslim Friendly Standards In Japan

Some people might be wondering what "Muslim-friendly" means! What does it mean to be a Muslim-friendly restaurant or hotel? What are the Muslim-friendly standards, and how do they differ from Halal standards?

​Which organization has initiated and set up these standards? How come some restaurants are said to be Muslim-friendly while serving alcoholic drinks and pork products, and there are plenty of them?
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What Are Muslim Friendly Standards?

One priority among Muslims is halal food, where animals are prepared according to established rules and no pork, lard, or alcohol is involved in the cooking. Muslim consumers today are likely to be younger, savvy, and interested in convenience, choice, and quality, but they also look for products and services that fit in with their beliefs.

As Muslim travelers become more affluent, they are willing to spend on high-quality food, while travel has introduced them to a taste for international cuisine, too. In Japan up to 2011, generally, there were no Islamic standards to halal certify any restaurant. To certify a restaurant that provides non-halal food but is willing to provide food that is halal for Muslims was almost impossible.

The Nippon Asia Halal Association, "NAHA," came up with the idea that if food can be prepared in a Halal-dedicated environment, then it will help Muslims as well as non-Muslims to provide food that Muslims can trust to eat. Based on that idea, the Nippon Asia Halal Association set the following criteria for the Muslim Friendly Standards:

1. Muslim-friendly standards are only for restaurants and hotels; they cannot be for products.
2. All ingredients used for Muslim-friendly standards foods are Halal-certified for meat and meat products.
3. Ingredients like spices, fish, vegetables, rice, and water, which do not need a halal certificate, will be accepted as halal.
4. Ingredients like ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, miso, and dressings must be checked for all their ingredients to be halal, like emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, and any other additives. (Some people think Muslim-friendly standards are too loose to check; this is not true.).
5. Storage facilities for halal ingredients must be dedicated and marked as Halal; refrigerators and freezers for all halal ingredients must be separate.
6. Dry ingredients that are canned must have a halal certificate for critical ingredients or at least have halal traceability. If any can't be checked due to certain reasons, they will not be considered halal.
7. Storage for dry ingredients must be on dedicated racks; mix storage with Halal and not Halal are not allowed.
8. Utensils like knives, cutting boards, frying pans, fryers in bigger restaurants, bigger pans, spatulas, or any other tools used for Halal food must be Halal-dedicated with a proper marking system.
9. Washing place, washing foam, washing timings, after washing, and storage of all pans and utensils must be on dedicated place and racks. These utensils are not allowed to be stored with non-halal utensils.
10. The cooking place must be dedicated.
11. Bigger tools like convectional ovens must be halal-dedicated. If, due to certain reasons, it cannot be dedicated to halal, then it must be dedicated to non-halal and not allowed to be used even to cook fish or vegetables.
12. All plates, spoons, and glasses must be halal-dedicated.
13. Storage of spoons and plates must be in a dedicated place.
14. In Muslim-friendly restaurants, it is allowed to serve alcoholic drinks and pork food, but a dedicated line must be confirmed.
15. Alcoholic drinks like sake, mirin, or even a very tiny part of pork ingredients' contamination are not allowed.
16. These restaurants have a shorter expiration date for their certificates, so audits can be done frequently.
17. Most of the time, these restaurants are checked every two months.
18. Using all these facilities to serve Muslims food that they can trust is important.
19. Even with all these conditions, the choice to eat there is up to each individual. It is recommended for those who have a higher TAQWA level not to eat in any restaurants, even fully halal-certified restaurants, as traceability is difficult.
20. For those who are visiting Japan, it is recommended that they eat only in certified Muslim-friendly restaurants, as we have observed that some restaurants declare Halal on their menus (THE OVEN in ODAIBA TOKYO), but they use the same knives and cutting boards for chicken and pork.
21. Training for non-Muslim staff must be provided to care about the integrity of Halal.

Nippon Asia Halal Association "The purpose of providing all the above standards is to make Muslims’ lives in Japan, a kind of non-Muslim, pork- and alcohol-loving country, a bit easier. We do our full efforts (IJTIHAD) to check all the tiny details. May Allah forgive us for our unintentional mistakes. We ask for any advice to improve our services to Muslims.".

Related Links:

• Useful Halal Information
• Japan Travel Information
• Japan Halal Day Trips

Sources

• Nippon Asia Halal Association