RIYADH, 8 January — The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization plan to set up an advisory panel ahead of the founding of a halal food authority with powers to issue licenses to produce halal meat the world over.

The proposed authority will conduct medical and scientific studies and provide information to highlight the health and nutritional aspects of consuming halal meat.

The Kingdom, being the largest importer of meat, expects to play a leading role in any project that would set out standards for halal food, chamber officials said.

Representatives of more than a dozen international food companies have visited Riyadh to learn more about the standards for halal meat since a Saudi plan to launch a halal food license was announced at an international seminar here last September. The seminar was organized by the Export Development Center, a subsidiary of the chamber council, in association with the SASO.

The center has been receiving applications from various countries for a label stating that the meat they package has been produced according to Islamic requirements.

The four-day conference on halal food products in Riyadh had recommended the formulation of a halal food standard which would eventually be accepted globally for the promotion of halal food exports.

The conference also proposed creation of a halal food label to indicate that it was in conformity with the religious specifications. The conference also recommended the setting up of a special cell at the Council of Saudi Chambers to promote halal food exports.

The biggest economy in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has the largest number of food industries in the region that complies with ISO standards. The Kingdom’s food imports are valued at $7.2 billion annually. The demand for meat in the country doubles during Haj and the fasting month of Ramadan. More than five million pilgrims visit the Kingdom annually for Haj and Umrah.

The Kingdom’s livestock resources cannot meet the growing demand for meat.

According to the chamber council, 592 factories with a total investment of $4.512 billion had been set up in the food and beverages sector.

He said 75.8 percent of the Saudi products were exported to the GCC states, with 14.9 percent of the products going to the non-Arab Muslim states and 9.3 percent to other Arab states.