4th international Halal and Healthy Food Fair kicks off in Istanbul

The 4th International Halal and Healthy Food Fair began in Istanbul Fair Center (CNR Expo) on Thursday with over 100 companies with 200 brands taking part in the fair in the fields of food, cosmetics, medical and cleaning supplies, fashion textile and modest dress, pilgrimage materials. The fair was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Arinc said that everybody should be respected in their choice of halal product consumption and that nobody should be forced to produce them. "This cannot be done in a secular country, but we should not be indifferent to demands of religious people, either. I know that this awareness has become stronger in Turkey," Arinc said. Furthermore, Halal Products Research Institute (GIMDES) will organize the 6th International Halal and Healthy Food Conference in Istanbul to be held on Saturday to discuss the problems of "Halal Certifiers" across the world. In the conference, manufacture and trade problems of halal and healthy products and its resolution proposals for Muslims and non-Muslim countries, investigations of medicine and cosmetic raw material on the aspects of Islamic perspective, Halal slaughter opinions of Muslims across the world, consumption risks for transgenic and genetically modified organisms in Islam and health viewpoint will be discussed with the participation of guest speakers from various regions such as Europe, United States and Asian countries.