For many consumers, certifications are not only a sign of product quality but representative of brand excellence. This holds true for coffee cleaning manufacturer Cafetto, who recently achieved its Halal certification from the Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia Inc (SICHMA), a globally recognised Halal certification.
SICHMA is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to promote halal food and the institution of halal. It is recognised and endorsed by several religious and governmental organisations across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, alongside bodies such as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Metrology and the Gulf Corporation Councils Accreditation Centre.
SICHMA is also a founding and sustaining member of the Australian Halal Certifiers Alliance and the World Halal Food Council.
“We wanted to adequately respond to the needs of the Muslim community and offer products that are compliant with Halal Standards in many countries,” says Christine Song, General Manager of Cafetto. “Now we can serve our customers better in the largely Muslim countries of the Middle East and Asia.”
These include Cafetto’s:
Traditional Espresso Cleaners: EVO, Espresso Clean, and Tevo Mini Tablet.
Automatic Espresso Cleaners: E29 Tablet, N10 Tablet, S15 Tablet, T32 Tablet, and T60 Tablet.
Milk Cleaners: MFC Blue, MFC Green, MFC Red, MFC Tabs Blue, MFC Tabs White 4.0, and T90 Tablet.
Descalers: LOD Green, Organic Descaler, Renew Descaler, and Restore Descaler.
Machine and Equipment Cleaners: Clean Bean Tablet and Grinder Clean.
“The first step Cafetto underwent was to apply and fulfil its raw material checklist, which captures everything that goes into its materials and packaging,” says Ahmed Ibrahim Alzoubi, SICHMA’s Technical and Quality Assurance Manager.
“Our technical team composed of two technologists, two microbiologists, chemical engineers, and packaging specialists reviewed each aspect, upholding the highest international Halal standards, in line with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).”
As a globally accredited practice, the ISO covers international standards and guidelines for certifying bodies, ensuring principles such as integrity, impartiality, and confidentially are upheld.
“All our technicians have done excessive training in these global Halal Certification standards and have an expansive knowledge of chemistry from studying at Australian universities,” says Alzoubi.
“After this, we then conducted an onsite audit of Cafetto’s factory which covered both Halal specifications and ensured the company was operating with high levels of food safety and quality.”
The scope of the Halal certification inspection covered documentation, auditing of raw materials, processing, handling, distribution of products, clean and safe equipment use, operational cleanliness, food safety, packaging, and more, ensuring complete quality across Cafetto’s products.
Once completed and approved, SICHMA passed its findings to another committee, consisting of Sharia experts, or individuals who studied Islam law, and food science and technology specialists. This committee then independently assessed and approved Cafetto’s accreditation.
“Cafetto now has a Halal policy, much like a quality policy, which ensures management protects the Halal integrity and reflects the brand’s commitment to the certification,” says Alzoubi.
“[Cafetto] is a unique client as it is the first time SICHMA has certified cleaning products for coffee machines, and I predict this will open them to many new markets.”
Abdhllah Bawazier of Second Coffee, a distributor of Cafetto’s products in Saudi Arabia, agrees. “Competitors in the region typically don’t have the same quality or environmental certifications that Cafetto has achieved,” he says.
“I would like to commend Cafetto on the initiative they took to receive this certification, and believe they are one of the pillars in the coffee industry that is building the growing coffee culture in the Gulf region.”
This growing coffee culture has been seen in many Asian countries too, including the Philippines, says Dana Mackenzie of Dunbrae Philippines, a supplier of coffee machines and equipment, beans, apparel, and cleaning products.
“During COVID we’ve seen this boom in cafés and hospitality venues as people change jobs or look to new avenues after being unemployed,” Mackenzie says.
“With this boom, we’ve also seen a greater demand from the Muslim community who are looking for more Halal products they can bring into their cafés and offer to their Muslim customers.”
Mackenzie says with Cafetto’s certification, Dunbrae can meet its customers’ needs while guaranteeing the safety and security of the product.
Zhou Wong of Dankoff, Cafetto’s exclusive distributor in Malaysia, says in his experience demand for Halal coffee cleaning products has also extended to the domestic segment.
“Especially since there’s been an explosion of domestic coffee machines on the market, being able to provide suitable cleaning equipment comes hand-in-hand,” says Wong. “With Cafetto we can meet the Halal needs for any client, be it business-to-business or business-to-customer.”
The Halal accreditation joins Cafetto’s portfolio of environmental and food safety certifications, with the brand saying it is proud to be certified by globally recognised independent industry bodies.
“Today, many customers have high awareness regarding the ingredients of the cleaning and sanitation products they use, and we see the importance of this aspect continuously increasing,” says Christine.
“We predict the global market of Halal-compliant products is expected to grow in the upcoming years significantly.”