Halal Virtual Inspection Requirements for Food Premise Inspection Process: Towards the Virtualization of Malaysia Halal Certification System

Food safety is an aspect that must be monitored properly as it can contribute to food-borne diseases if not properly maintained. There are various food safety assurance systems that have been introduced which act as a tool to reduce the risk of contamination. However, such a system can be difficult to maintain because it requires a comprehensive evaluation of all components involved in food production. In addition, from the Islamic perspective, food safety should be compromised with the Shariah law as it emphasizes the Halalan-Thoyyiba concept. This is the key reason for the introduction of Halal Certification (HC) system. This paper attempts to highlight the common but critically important requirement of Halal Inspection (HI) which is the key process of HC system. Qualitative research methods have been implemented through the interview with five Halal Auditors and series of observations on the existing HI process which had been conducted at 10 food premises throughout Malaysia. This research is performed based on the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) framework and focused on the HI process for small and medium-sized food premises such as restaurants, cafés, food kiosks and hotel kitchens. The results revealed the requirement of HI which is the critical control points during the inspection process. The requirement is depicted as the element of the newly developed Halal Virtual Inspection Model. This is a noble work as it exposed the important criteria of HI which requires special attention in strengthening Malaysia's HC system through the application of information technology.