A potential market of 30 million consumers in Western Europe lies in store for companies that adhere to the Islamic restrictions regarding unsullied food. A Halal distribution centre is being opened in Rotterdam for the first time. The fact that Muslims do not eat pork is sufficiently well known. A much less widespread fact is that the foodstuffs that they do consume have to comply with specific regulations: they have to be certified halal. These restrictions are particularly precise where the production of meat is concerned. Cattle must therefore be slaughtered by a Muslim, in a manner that is appropriate to Islamic methods, the assumption in this being that the animal should suffer as little as possible. Once the meat has been processed, it is not permitted to come into contact with other, unclean products.

These restrictions are centuries old, but now that millions of Muslims live in the Western world, and meat can be transported in a frozen state from one side of the world to the other, those regulations are more relevant than ever for non-Muslims. That goes for the Port of Rotterdam too, where meat from all corners of the world is imported and is distributed to cold storage warehouses across Europe. These too have recently become able to handle halal meat. The companies VAT Logistics and Eurofrigo have recently been officially certified after they were approved by the Halal Audit Company, also based in Rotterdam. With this announcement, the Port of Rotterdam Authority is now setting out on the international path with the same enthusiasm that it showed earlier this year in Jakarta, when it revealed that a 3.5 hectare halal distribution centre would be built on the Maasvlakte. It is said that a declaration of intent between VAT and Asian export firm Hecny Group has been signed in the Indonesian capital to put the depot into operation. The reality was somewhat more prosaic. VAT is indeed going to build a new depot on the Maasvlakte, which the logistics service provider is indeed trying to fill with halal products in collaboration with Hecny, its agent in Indonesia and Malaysia, the two largest halal-producing countries. The distribution centre will not be used solely for halal products however, and since meat constitutes 60 percent of those products, a large part will end up with neighbouring company Eurofrigo, which, as opposed to VAT, can store frozen foodstuffs. VAT is not excluding the possibility of building a deepfreeze in the warehouse however, and certified refrigerated storage is available in the VAT depot at Distripark Eemhaven.

Eurofrigo has equipped its cold-storage warehouse on the Maasvlakte with two deepfreezes, capable of storing a few hundred pallets of halal products. "But if it becomes a huge success, we will make further space available. Let's say that someone comes tomorrow who wants to store one thousand tonnes of halal meat. That would not be a problem", says Derk van Mackelenbergh, Managing Director of Eurofrigo. Van Mackelenbergh has spent the past few months immersing himself in the subject of halal products. "I visited some Turkish and Moroccan shops a couple of times and it was a revelation. For instance, I now know that you can also purchase halal croquettes. There is a whole range of products associated with halal-produced foods." Van Mackelenbergh claims that it was not difficult for Eurofrigo to obtain certification. "Time and attention, but it does not require any particular investments. It is kind of an HACCP-plus: obviously, we comply with all of the food safety standards, and then additional requirements are made on top of those. Complying with those requirements is a matter of self-discipline, and the certification agency visits the company from time to time to see whether everything is still in order," The regulations are most stringent for the slaughtering of cattle and the processing of the meat. Once the products have been packed, the standards become a bit more flexible. Just how flexible they are varies frequently, Van Mackelenbergh has noticed. "Can packaged halal meat be stored with packaged pork together in a container or in a storage room? That is a grey area, which some Muslims are more strict about than others. I keep them separate, just to be on the safe side."

By offering the facility in Rotterdam, VAT and Eurofrigo have extended the halal supply chain, as it were, says Van Mackelenbergh. The only issue now is getting other links in the chain to comply with the regulations too. "Obviously that is a task for us. If we were to allow the product to come into contact with non-halal foodstuffs during distribution, we would blow our reputation. However, attention is increasingly being paid to this problem in road transport too. That is something that they have to do, if the customers are going to check whether you are keeping the two types separate. You have a problem as a transport company, if those deliveries are refused." Van Mackelenbergh admits that the flood of halal products has yet to come. "At present, we only have halal meat from South America in storage. We have yet to receive supplies from the large Malaysian and Indonesian producers. But that doesn't mean anything. Everything is still in the early stages." In any event, halal will from now on be a fixed element in Eurofrigo's marketing and sales, says Van Mackelenbergh. "It compliments our existing activities and we are able to tap into new markets with the concept that we use with our South American suppliers, who are increasingly storing strategic supplies in our facilities, which they can then use to deliver smaller quantities to their clients quickly. Perhaps the halal producers will think that it is a good idea too."
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Port of Rotterdam