Mozambique: Islamic Council awards Halal Certificate to SMS Catering

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Mozambique: Islamic Council awards Halal Certificate to SMS Catering

3:22 CAT | 23 Dec 2022

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The Islamic Council of Mozambique (CIM) has awarded the Halal Certificate to the Sociedade Moçambicana de Serviços (SMS Catering). The move qualifies the country’s largest catering company to provide services to national and international companies which demand products with quality and safety within Islamic standards.

In recent years, SMS Catering has adopted a business strategy aimed at consolidating its position and competitiveness in an increasingly demanding market, complying with various international requirements and standards to obtain certifications and deserved recognition, especially in the complex segment of civil aviation, in which it has greater presence.

As such, this Wednesday, December 21st, SMS saw its effort recognized with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Council that culminated in the attribution of the Halal Certificate.

The certification is the culmination of a process which started a few months ago, with the purpose of assessing the level of trust in the services provided, from a technical, sanitary and religious point of view. SMS Catering is now qualified to serve meals without any restrictions on all national and international flights that stop in our country.

Visibly moved after receiving the certificate, the managing director of the leading company in the catering industry in Mozambique, Fayzal Sacugy, declared that this act represents the culmination of a dream for the company that is fast-paced moving forward towards its 30th anniversary.

“We saw the need to have a Halal Certification, with all international standards and which is recognized by the airlines that are our customers and other potential ones, that is, Qatar Airways, among others, because for the simple fact that the company [SMS Catering] did not have a Halal Certificate, they were obliged to making a technical stopover in South Africa just to load the catering. This certificate gives us this comfort to be able to cater all airlines,” Sacugy said.

On the occasion, he recalled that the company, which turns 30 next year, complies with international standards and is audited regularly to continue operating in the civil aviation industry, including by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the sector’s main authority.

On the occasion, Sacugy announced that SMS Catering has already recovered from the negative effects generated by Covid-19, and this year the company, which serves an average of 3,500 meals a day, closes with a positive financial balance.

For his part, the interim secretary general of the Islamic Council of Mozambique, Mussa Tamimo Mussa, said that the Halal Certificate is essential to open the doors to business opportunities, especially at the level of international airlines.

“With this Halal Certificate, SMS Catering already meets the conditions required to provide products with quality and safety within Islamically accepted standards. It is in this context that we signed this memorandum of understanding, enabling the company to provide products and services for domestic and international aircraft,” Tamimo said.

In her speech, the director of Quality and Safety at SMS Catering, Salma Somar, explained that Halal Certification is of a religious nature and is conceived by a competent institution for the recognition of practices recognized in the Holy Quran for food production.

“Halal certification attests that the company’s processes and products follow the legal requirements and criteria determined by Islamic jurisprudence,” Somar explained.

SMS Catering is a food company dedicated to serving aviation and other segments in the Mozambican market, created in 1994 to respond to the needs of the national market. Its partners include Mozambique Airlines (LAM) and Airports of Mozambique (ADeM).

Source: Integrity Magazine