The halal sector, which covers food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, finance and tourism, is on the cusp of exponential growth in the Middle East and worldwide. Valued at $1.5 trillion globally, the sector has been growing by 10 to 20 percent per year, even during the financial crisis, according to Ramez Shehadi, senior partner at consultancy firm Booz & Company. Other estimates put the sector at more than $2.1 trillion, and it is set to rise even further as companies start cottoning on to the potential of a sector that directly appeals to some 1.5 billion Muslims. But what has been holding back the success of the halal sector is the labeling and certification of products as halal. With no global certification body, there is minimal standardization and coordination between national certifying bodies, such as in Australia, Malaysia, the US, Britain and Brazil. It is the same story in the Middle East,
