Exploring Barriers to Adoption of Halal Certification among Restaurant Owners in Seremban, Malaysia

This preliminary study seeks to gain initial insights into the barriers encountered by restaurant owners in Seremban, Malaysia, regarding the adoption of halal certification. The research, which precedes a more comprehensive DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) analysis, employs a quantitative approach and data collected through Google Forms from a limited sample of 26 restaurant owners. The findings highlight four primary barriers: cost, lack of awareness, procedural complexities, and insufficient government support. Notably, this study does not aim for exhaustive conclusions but serves as a foundational exploration, offering valuable perspectives for further investigation. The outcomes will be instrumental in advancing our understanding of halal certification adoption among restaurant proprietors in Seremban, ultimately facilitating more in-depth analyses and strategic solutions

A conceptual paper for development of halal food service system in Thailand

Halal certification for food service establishments is crucial when marketing them to the global travelers since the demand for Halal establishments is increasing every day. Many food service establishments are trying to be Halal certified because stringent Halal certification processes could give these establishments a competitive advantage which will result in higher revenue. Thailand has been receiving a high revenue from tourism industry. Meanwhile the food and beverage were the top five sectors that contributed 448 billion baht to the GDP in 2015. By having Halal certification, restaurants will be ensured Food Quality Standards that will guarantee the hygienic condition through implementation of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and Halal certification. Nevertheless, currently the numbers of Halal restaurants in some areas are less than 20 establishments. This is not enough for visitors who wanted to consume Muslim foods. The main aim of this paper is to provide a literature review on Halal certification, thus proposing the conceptual framework on the opportunities of developing Halal Food Service system in Thailand. Finally, the findings will also provide recommendations on how restaurants? operators should strategize their business and focus towards acquiring Halal certification. These efforts could also help to better understand the current situations and efforts that could be carried out by tourism promotions bodies to promote these Muslim friendly locations to Muslim tourists around the world

Somatic embryogenesis of pathogen- free horseradish (Armoracia Rusticana) plants in vitro

Illinois had been the major producer of horseradish in the United States for many years. Horseradish root production in Illinois had recently decreased due to a disease complex that causes root discoloration and rots. The use of pathogen-free (PF) horseradish planting stock was a means for the Illinois horseradish growers to restore root quality and yields. Micropropagation of PF plants through tissue culture could be used to deliver PF planting stock to growers, but it was time-consuming and has high labor costs. In addition, the growers needed millions of plants to supply their planting stock needs. It had been proposed to develop a method to produce whole plants from single cells via somatic embryogenesis. To initiate somatic embryogenesis, the Illinois Horseradish ???Doll??? cultivar (???Doll???) was tested with 2,4 -D (0.25 to 1.0 mg/l) and BA in vitro. Somatic embryogenic callus was successfully induced from leaf explants on MS medium supplemented with 2, 4-D. Somatic embryos (SEs) were collected from the callus, germinated, and converted to whole plants. Histological studies of SEs showed that they developed from cells near the vascular bundles. Furthermore, SEs developed through stages that mimicked normal embryo development. SEs germinated to give healthy and vigorous horseradish plants. Since cell suspensions of somatic embryogenic calli yielded plants, it raised the possibility to generate large number plantlets from suspension cultures. In addition, it was predicted that SEs could be encapsulated to make ???artificial seeds??? that could be used to supply a certified set program

Readiness, challenges and motivation for certification among halal restaurants in Northeastern Thailand

In 2018, 38.3 million international tourists arrived in Thailand. The tourism industry generated USD54 billion of revenue for the country. Besides, the number of tourist arrival is expected to increase by 10 percent annually, which lead to the revenue increase in the food and beverage sector. This sector was identified as one of the top five sectors that contributed 12.3% to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. The northeastern area in Thailand is becoming popular among Muslim travelers and there is a high demand for halal food. There were 19,615 of Muslim tourists who chose this region as their travel destination in 2017. Nevertheless, there were only 11 halal certified restaurants to accommodate the influx of Muslim tourists in that area. Halal food is not only intended for Muslim customers; it is also preferred by non-Muslims. Thus, it is critical to promote halal certification among restaurant owners in northeastern Thailand. The main objective of this study was to explore the readiness, challenges and motivation for certification among halal restaurants in the northeastern Thailand. Semi-structured interviews and observation were conducted with informants comprising three stakeholders: restaurant operators of halal certified restaurants (HCRs) and non-certified halal restaurants (NCHRs), halal authority, and customers. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis with computer software (ATLAS.ti. 8.4). Six themes emerged as the readiness dimensions, in answering the first objective: appropriateness, management support, effort, restriction, personal benefit and restaurant benefit. This study also mapped the restaurants into six readiness stages, where NCHRs were identified at the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages, and HCRs were at the maintenance and termination stages. The second research objective revealed seven themes of the motivation factors and four themes of benefits in having halal certification. In the third objective, there were six themes of motivation factors perceived by customers in choosing halal restaurants. The challenges of having halal certification were obtained from three different perspectives; HCRs, NCHRs and halal authority. Three categories of challenges emerged from the fourth objective: namely before, in applying, and after getting halal certification. The final objective of this study identified that the halal authority implemented halal training and provided hard copy documents in the past. Currently, all the halal related documents can be downloaded and submitted online. In the future, the authority strategized to develop applications to facilitate the halal activities. The findings of this study are anticipated to give insights on how restaurant owners should strategize their business towards acquiring a halal certification, help to better understand the current situations and efforts that should be carried out by the authorized bodies for halal certification in Thailand. In addition, the readiness themes and the definition of the readiness stages developed by this study can be applied to the halal restaurants in other regions, particularly in Thailand

Estimations of Nitrogen Concentration in Sugarcane Using Hyperspectral Imagery

This study aims to estimate the spatial variation of sugarcane Canopy Nitrogen Concentration (CNC) using spectral data, which were measured from a spaceborne hyperspectral image. Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression (SMLR) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) were applied to calibrate and validate the CNC estimation models. The raw spectral reflectance was transformed into a First-Derivative Spectrum (FDS) and absorption features to remove the spectral noise and finally used as input variables. The results indicate that the estimation models developed by non-linear SVR based Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel yield the higher correlation coefficient with CNC compared with the models computed by SMLR. The best model shows the coefficient of determination value of 0.78 and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value of 0.035% nitrogen. The narrow sensitive spectral wavelengths for quantifying nitrogen content in the combined cultivar environments existed mainly in the electromagnetic spectrum of the visible-red, longer portion of red edge, shortwave infrared regions and far-near infrared. The most important conclusion from this experiment is that spectral signals from the space hyperspectral data contain the meaningful information for quantifying sugarcane CNC across larger geographic areas. The nutrient deficient areas could be corrected by applying suitable farm management

Somatic Embryogenesis of Pathogen-Free Horseradish (Armoracia Rusticana) Plants in Vitro

158 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009.Illinois had been the major producer of horseradish in the United States for many years. Horseradish root production in Illinois had recently decreased due to a disease complex that causes root discoloration and rots. The use of pathogen-free (PF) horseradish planting stock was a means for the Illinois horseradish growers to restore root quality and yields. Micropropagation of PF plants through tissue culture could be used to deliver PF planting stock to growers, but it was time-consuming and has high labor costs. In addition, the growers needed millions of plants to supply their planting stock needs. It had been proposed to develop a method to produce whole plants from single cells via somatic embryogenesis. To initiate somatic embryogenesis, the Illinois Horseradish 'Doll' cultivar ('Doll') was tested with 2,4-D (0.25 to 1.0 mg/l) and BA in vitro. Somatic embryogenic callus was successfully induced from leaf explants on MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D. Somatic embryos (SEs) were collected from the callus, germinated, and converted to whole plants. Histological studies of SEs showed that they developed from cells near the vascular bundles. Furthermore, SEs developed through stages that mimicked normal embryo development. SEs germinated to give healthy and vigorous horseradish plants. Since cell suspensions of somatic embryogenic calli yielded plants, it raised the possibility to generate large number plantlets from suspension cultures. In addition, it was predicted that SEs could be encapsulated to make "artificial seeds" that could be used to supply a certified set program.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Anti-lipogenic effect of Senna alata leaf extract in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Objective: To examine the effect of Senna alata (S. alata) leaf extracts on the regulation of lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Methods: The obesity condition was induced in the male ICR mice by feeding them with high-fat diet (45 kcal% fat) for 12 weeks. At the 7th week of diet feeding, the obese mice were treated with the water extract of S. alata leaf at 250 and 500 mg/kg/day, respectively, that continued for six weeks. At the end of the treatment period, the biochemical parameters were determined. The hepatic histology and the gene and protein expressions were also examined. Results: In comparison with the obese control mice, the mice treated with S. alata showed a significant reduction in the elevated blood glucose levels and a decrease in the serum insulin and leptin levels. A reduction in the serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acid, and hepatic triglyceride levels were also observed. The histological examination of the obese mice treated with S. alata showed a reduced lipid accumulation in the liver tissue. Hepatic lipogenic gene expression showed that S. alata decreased the activity of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c, fatty acid synthase, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. S. alata could suppress hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) protein. Moreover, the protein expression of PPARα in liver tissue was clearly increased by S. alata treatment. Conclusion: The treatment with S. alata could decrease several parameters of impaired lipid metabolism in the obese mice by downregulating sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c and PPARγ and upregulating PPARα. This study is the first report on the role of S. alata leaf extract in alleviating the abnormal lipid metabolism in obese conditions

Antioxidant activity and sensory evaluation of mixed vegetables (Piper sarmentosum Roxb. and Brassica rapa subsp.pekinensis) crispy snack

This research aimed to examine the antioxidant activity, chemical, physical properties and sensory evaluation of mixed vegetables (Cha-Plu, Piper sarmentosum Roxb. and Chinese cabbage, Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) crispy snack (MVCS). Three treatments of MVCS with varying ratio of vegetables (P. sarmentosum : Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis ) comprising MVCS (2:1), MVCS (1:1), and MVCS (1:2) were examined. The increasing of P. sarmentosum showed a significant on ash (20.21±0.19a ) and crude fiber (13.85±0.13a ). However, other proximate composition such as crude lipid, crude protein and carbohydrate were not a significant difference (P ≥0.05). Meanwhile, MVCS (1:2) that with high ratio of Chinese cabbage had the highest lightness (65.03±0.98a ). Regarding texture profile analysis, MVCS (1:2) showed the highest force on hardness (N) (172.40±3.03a ) but the minimum crispness (N) of 6.73±3.03c was noted for MVCS (2:1). Besides, the highest total phenolic content (650.20 mg/100 g DW) and DPPH radical-scavenging activity (898 mg Trolox equivalent mg/100 g DW) were observed in MVCS (2:1). Regarding sensory evaluation, the majority of panelists scored 7.63±1.16a out of 9 for MVCS (1:1) on the overall acceptability and other dimensions also received the highest score among three samples. Therefore, the nutrition value and sensory evaluation results from this study indicated that mixed Cha-Plu and Chinese cabbage could produce a snack with significant higher antioxidant activity and a variety of healthy snacks in order to capture the opportunity in a healthy food market

Rhinacanthus nasutus leaf improves metabolic abnormalities in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Objective: To investigate the effect of Rhinacanthus nasutus (R. nasutus) leaf extract on impaired glucose and lipid metabolism in obese ICR mice. Methods: Obesity was induced in the male ICR mice by feeding them a high-fat diet (60 kcal% fat) for 12 weeks. After the first six weeks of the diet, the obese mice were administered with the water extract of R. nasutus leaves at 250 and 500 mg/kg per day for the next six weeks. Subsequently, the blood glucose, lipid profiles, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin levels were measured. The liver and adipose tissues were excised for histopathological examination and protein expression study. Results: After six weeks of the treatment, R. nasutus extract (at 250 and 500 mg/kg per day) was found to reduce the elevated blood glucose level, improve the insulin sensitivity, decrease the serum leptin, and increase the serum adiponectin levels. The obese mice treated with R. nasutus were found to have a reduction in the increased lipid concentrations in their serum and liver tissues. Moreover, treatment with R. nasutus reduced the fat accumulation in the liver and the large adipocyte size in the fat tissues. Interestingly, the administration with R. nasutus extract was marked by an increase in the hepatic peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor alpha, fat cell adiponectin, and glucose transporter 4 proteins. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report on the impact of R. nasutus extract in improving the impaired glucose and lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice via stimulating the insulin sensitivity in the liver and adipose tissues