Brunei is collaborating with religious agencies in developing the Brunei Halal Brand to ensure its success in the regional market.

"In other countries, the halal developing corporations do not collaborate with religious ministries and agencies. They work separately. We work together with them. We have the credibility plus full support from the government," said Normah SH Jamil, a senior officer at the Agriculture Department of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR).

"The Brunei Halal Brand is quality in itself, ensuring proper safety, processing and packaging combined with the obligation to adhere to Islamic halal guidelines through working with the relevant religious agencies," she said.

She said the Brunei Halal Brand is not merely a logo or a form of certification, but a registered quality brand.

"Certification is more to do with the 'halal' logo, certifying the product's 'halalness', but it does not necessary certify the quality of the products."

The Brunei Halal Brand, she said, will be registered with any trading partner country, protecting it from dubious cases of duplication, while underlining its credibility.

"You buy the Kellogg's cereals because you are confident with its quality, the juices, the milk and butter, with quality branding is what we buy ... The quality of the Brunei Halal Brand is what we want to instill in the minds of consumers," she said.

The senior officer said that the MIPR will be establishing its own halal science laboratory, while ensuring that with existing facilities and capacity, it meets objectives and missions.

The ministry is getting ready for an in-depth auditing of about 20 Australian companies seeking the Brunei Halal Brand seal. At present, the ministry is gathering information from the firms such as the origins of ingredients they use, among others.

The preliminary audit, expected to be completed last month, became overdue, due to formalities in the processing tasks, Normah said.

The Australian companies offer a range of food products including cheese, honey, juices and biscuits.

The senior officer said foreign investors' reaction on the halal brand initiative has been positive.

The Brunei Halal Brand "is a platform for us. We need to partner with those ... already in the international market so it can also become a platform for local products," she added.

His Majesty, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has urged for the development of the agriculture sector during the opening of the fourth State Legislative Council meeting early this week.

The Brunei Times. By Sobrina Rosli. Sunday, March 9, 2008.