Established in 2016 within the scope of the Istanbul Development Agency's Innovative and Creative Istanbul Financial Support programme, the Halal Food R&D Center began operating in a space allocated by Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University to solve the scientific and technical problems of academia and industry related to halal products.
Our University has grasped the importance of halal consumption, above all halal earnings, and has made the research, teaching and further development of halal living its aim and mission. In line with this aim, scientific studies on halal products continue in the education, teaching and research of our food and nutrition departments.
Our Halal Food and R&D Center, established within İZÜ, consists of 4 units: chemical, instrumental, microbiological and molecular biology-genetics. At the Halal Food R&D Center of Excellence, competent staff and expert academics carry out comprehensive analyses not only of counterfeit and adulterated food products but also of ingredients with halal compliance issues.
Method validation, method verification, measurement uncertainty, proficiency testing, inter-laboratory comparison testing and accreditation studies are also carried out within the Center. These analyses show the accuracy of measurements and how this accuracy should be evaluated from the perspective of producers and consumers. These studies are of great importance for Halal Food certification bodies that make assessments on matters of Islamic jurisprudence. Poised to close this gap to a great extent, our center aims to provide laboratory and analysis services to our country and the entire Islamic world.
Nearly 2 billion Muslims live worldwide, and this population is known to create a Halal market worth approximately 4 trillion dollars. Our aim is to become a reference laboratory capable of meeting the analysis needs of all countries of the world, above all our own, in the field of Halal Food.
Our Sabri Ülker R&D Center campus has 3 departments, 5 classrooms, 14 laboratories for training practice and 8 laboratories dedicated to R&D activities. European Union and TÜBİTAK projects are carried out at our center, which complies with international standards. Focusing on university-industry cooperation activities, our center conducts comprehensive studies in various fields, particularly Food and Health. Our center supports companies in our country in their R&D activities and contributes to the development of products that comply with national/international regulations.