THE NEED FOR HALAL CERTIFICATION OF MEDICAL DEVICES: A CASE STUDY OF THAILAND

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether there is a need for medical devices used for Muslim patients to be Halal certified. This study comprehends the concepts and ideas of Halal medical devices based on the present information that is available in documents, articles, websites and online databases. This study reveals that in the case of Thailand, there is a need for medical devices to be Halal certified particularly due to three main reasons: 1) there is a significant increase in the World Muslim population; 2) the number of Muslim tourists that come to Thailand for medical services have been increasing notably as Thailand is one Muslim-Friendly tourist destinations; and 3) there will be a business opportunity for the industrial players in Thailand to export more of non-food products like medical devices with Halal certification as the country has successfully been exporting a lot of Halal foods and Thailand’s Halal certification has been recognized by many Muslim countries.