Five new halal products bearing fruit

PETALING JAYA: A number of university research initiatives on halal products are beginning to bear fruit, with some of them now on the verge of breaking into the market.

Five such products were highlighted during the recent World Halal Week (WHW) 2013 for the purpose of sharing and commercialising new research findings and innovations that are worth being marketed.

Being new and literally small players in the business industry, these halal products are from various industries like pharmaceuticals, packaging clusters, food and cosmetics, and had gone through deep research works before being turned into products that can benefit the consumer.

Excellent Icon Sdn Bhd director R Sathiyamoorthy said the two-year-old company was aggressively into producing nature-friendly tapioca-based tableware products.

“Our products are edible. They are alternative products for existing plastic and polystyrene tableware products,” he said, adding that the company has a production capacity of 100,000 per month.

Sathiyamoorthy, who is also a mechanical engineer, said its products could withstand heat for up to two hours and they are “eatable”.

Moving forward, the company eyed WHW 2013 as a platform to commercialise its products as a part of its strategic plan to expand business.

International Islamic University Malaysia’s international institute for halal research and training (INHART) invented a ready-to-consume beverage called Agarwood Hydrosol.

INHART director Hamzah Mohd Salleh said the younger generation was more attracted to such healthy beverages.

Starting small, INHART is looking to engage with small and medium entrepreneurs to market its products. Reszon Diagnostics International Sdn Bhd introduced a diagnostic system for malaria, namely PlasmoNex, which is pending intellectual property (IP) patenting.

University Malaya associate professor Chua Kek Heng said PlasmoNex is a highly sensitive substance designed to detect malaria at an initial stage.

Concerning rising malaria cases, he said in 2008, 247 million malaria cases were recorded globally, with close to a million ending in death, triggering the research team to come out with the ingredient.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia research institute team introduced its agricultural product called “CiliBangi”. The organic seed product is said to have a high resistance level against viruses with upgraded flowering and fruit maturity.

Another product highlighted at the conference was halal collagen and hydroxyapatite (HAp), an extract from fish scales, produced by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.

The patented invention technique is said to be economical and simple without the usage of chemicals and enzymes which yield 40% to 60% of collagen and HAp produced from the same fish scales.

All the products were nominated for a WHW 2013 award as potential halal products to be developed and commercialised.

WHW 2013, previously known as Malaysia Halal Week, aims to bring economic and wholesome benefits and services for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to establish Malaysia as a global halal referral centre.

Last year, six IPs were successfully matched and commercialised, including Beauticococa based cosmetics, an interactive courseware multimedia for umrah and haj, V-Haj and others within the food, pharmaceuticals and packaging clusters.