Halal issues in pastry and bakery products: the halal gatekeepers of bakery ingredients / Wan Rusni Wan Ismail... [et al.]

The bakery and pastry industry is one of the fastest growing “cottage” industries in Malaysia. Being a Muslim-majority country, halal is a very important factor in securing the market share. Unlike other ready-to-eat products which ingredients come from raw materials, most ingredients and additives used in bakery and pastry industry are processed food components which raised the uncertainty on their halal status. Using qualitative semistructured interview, important findings have emerged pointing to somewhat serious issues pertaining to ambiguous ingredients in bakery and pastry application which requires immediate actions. A total of 12 pastry chefs were interviewed about their perception of the halal issue of baking ingredients. Results indicate strong awareness among the practitioners regarding the ambiguous ingredients in pastry and bakery products. However, the uncertainty and doubts of these ambiguous ingredients are often washed away by the trust they put in the ingredient’s suppliers, mentors and halal label on the packaging. Putting trust on other people in finding halal ingredients sounds positive and doubt-free. However, this might also lead us to becoming too complacent with what we use in pastry and bakery products without putting much effort to inspect the halal status of each ingredient we use. Recommendations to enlighten this matter require actions from all responsible parties including the chefs, suppliers, authority (JAKIM) as well as the end-user. This is also in accordance with the Islamic teaching which said that finding the halal food or things are the responsibilities of everyone

Local Malay snacks and desserts: the hidden gems of Terengganu / Amirul Hakim Zulkifli... [et al.]

With a unique culture and vibrant tourist attractions, Terengganu has become one of the leading tourism destinations in Malaysia. Apart of stunning sceneries, islands and beaches, Terengganu cuisine has also become a tourism product for both local and foreign tourists. Situated along South China Sea, Terengganu is blessed with abundance of fish, seafood and coconut tree which become the main ingredients for most of its cuisines. Resulting from the acculturation of its neighbouring cultures, the cuisine is the melting pot of flavour from Malay and Thai. Nasi Dagang, Nasi Kerabu, Keropok Lekor, Sata, Bekang, Bronok, Qasidah, and Asam Gumpal are the iconic foods that are widely highlighted by the tourism authority. Besides all the prominent local cuisines in Terengganu there are still local cuisines that are hidden from the eyes of the public. Therefore, this paper focuses to explore Terengganu traditional Malay foods that are not typically promoted as tourism product. The study is based on secondary data gathered from journals, articles and tourism manuals. It is found that, there are aplenty other unnoticed foods that are unique to the state. These signature foods are vastly potential as attractive tourism products. This conceptual paper provides scholars and practitioner a great potential of insight view towards food as a unique identity of Terengganu that can be utilized as tourism product. Subsequently, it will lead to a well-planned strategy in order to upsurge the locals’ income and boosting the state’s economy