Halal seafood for Gulf buyers: what we state, what we confirm in writing

Many importers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait ask about Halal in the first line of an enquiry, and a few ask only at the end, when their own auditor wants a paper for the file. Both groups are better served by the same approach: agree early what exactly has to be shown, for which products, and in which form, and put it in the offer. This page explains how Al Shene Marine Holding handles that conversation from its Dubai office, and where the limits of a web page lie. It does not give religious rulings and it does not list products with a Halal label; your own authority and auditor decide what they accept. What it can do is set out our record and the questions that make an answer precise.

Our general range for hotels, restaurants and caterers is described under HoReCa supply. This page takes one subject from that range and goes deeper.

What our record says

Halal appears on the list of certifications of the company, next to UK/EC Approval for the Scottish seafood processing and freezing plant, BRCGS Food Safety at grade A, HACCP, ISO 22000, MSC and ASC. The company's own description of the list is brief and we keep to it: Halal is a certificate the company holds, stated here by name only. This site prints no certificate numbers and no logos.

Two limits follow from that wording. First, a name on a list is not a product claim. MSC and ASC, for example, apply only to the relevant product groups, and the same discipline is sensible for any certificate: the offer names the product line it concerns. Second, we do not publish the paperwork on the open web. If you need a copy for your auditor, ask for it in the enquiry and the answer will come in writing, with your named products in mind.

Why Scottish seafood and Halal meet in Dubai

Group management and finance sit in Dubai, and the Dubai office also runs operations and distribution for the Gulf Cooperation Council markets. The Scottish side, where raw material, processing, packing and quality control take place, is organised from the integrated sites in Edinburgh at the Port of Leith and at Grangemouth, with blast freezing and port work at Aberdeen Ports & Docks. A buyer in Riyadh, Doha or Kuwait City therefore has a Gulf office to write to, while the product and the certificates are controlled in Scotland by the same company. The answer to a Halal question comes from one organisation, not from a chain of agents.

Which lines a Gulf buyer is likely to ask about

The table below lists the product families on our company record with the states in which they are supplied. For every line, the useful sentence in an enquiry is the same: "We need Halal documentation for this product." The offer then states what can be supplied.

Family	Lines	Supplied as
Fish	Scottish salmon (HOG, PBO or PBI fillet, portions, oak-smoked), sea trout and rainbow trout, mackerel, herring, haddock and cod, plaice and sole	Fresh at +2 °C by air or frozen, as set out for each line in the offer
Shellfish	Langoustine, brown and velvet crab, European lobster, scallops, mussels and oysters	Live, fresh, cooked or frozen, depending on the line
Value-added	Roe, seaweed and kelp, octopus and squid, smoked and marinated delicatessen, fish oil and fish meal	By specification

How Halal sits next to the other certificates

Gulf import files usually ask for several papers together. It helps to know which certificate answers which question, so that you do not request one document when you need another.

Certificate or paper	What our record says it relates to	What to ask
UK/EC Approval	The Scottish seafood processing and freezing plant	Confirmation that the plant is approved
BRCGS Food Safety, grade A	Food safety management	Grade and scope as stated in the offer
HACCP	Hazard control	Named in the offer where relevant
ISO 22000	The whole facility and all processed products	Scope statement
MSC and ASC	Relevant product groups only	Which of your lines they cover, if any
Halal	A certificate held by the company	Whether documentation can be supplied for your named products
Health Certificate, certificate of origin, CITES	Prepared per consignment	Which of them your customs agent requires

What a complete Halal question looks like

A short question gets a short answer. A precise one gets an answer your auditor can file. The more of these points your enquiry contains, the less back-and-forth is needed.

Point	Example wording
Product and form	"Scottish salmon, PBO fillets"
State	"Fresh by air" or "frozen IQF"
Destination	"a named Gulf seaport or airport", or "our warehouse address"
What you must show	"A copy of the Halal certificate for these products for our auditor"
Label wording	"Our market requires the following statement on the carton"
Timing	"Audit on a given week", so that papers can be ready before it

The wording in the examples only shows how to write a line; what we can offer for each line is confirmed in the offer.

Packing, labels and private label

Fresh fish is packed in iced EPS boxes of 6, 10 or 20 kg. Frozen product is IQF in vacuum inner packs inside master cartons. Private label for retail chains is available. If your market or your retailer needs particular wording on a carton or pack, tell us before production, because label text is settled at order stage and not after the goods are packed.

Keeping the chain documented

Fresh and live products leave the same or next day by air cargo from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Every air shipment carries a temperature data logger, so a temperature record of the flight is available when the goods arrive and can be added to your own file. Frozen goods are held at −25 °C in cold storage and move to the Gulf in reefer containers loaded at Leith and Grangemouth; the minimum is one reefer container, about 12 to 26 tonnes. If you want an independent look before loading, a body such as SGS, or a representative of your own, can inspect the goods first.

Ordering with Halal documentation

1. Enquiry. Email info@sultanrashid.com with product, form, state, quantity, destination and the Halal point from the table above.
2. Offer. The written offer states specification, packing, route and what documentation can be supplied for the named products.
3. Payment. A first order is normally settled with a 30% T/T advance and the remaining 70% against a copy of the bill of lading; large volumes can run on an irrevocable L/C at sight. The minimum by air is one pallet, roughly 500 kg to 1 tonne.
4. Checks. An independent inspection before loading can be arranged on request.
5. Shipment. The goods leave with the Health Certificate, the certificate of origin and any CITES permit, and the company follows customs clearance.

Questions Gulf buyers ask about Halal seafood

Does Al Shene Marine Holding hold a Halal certificate?

Halal is on the company's list of certifications. We state it by name only; ask in your enquiry whether documentation can be supplied for the products you name.

Can you send the Halal paper for my auditor?

Ask for it in the enquiry and name the products. The answer comes in writing, and we do not publish certificates on this website.

Does Halal apply to all your products?

We do not make a blanket statement. The offer names the product lines to which a certificate relates, in the same way that MSC and ASC are matched to the relevant product groups.

Can the label carry wording my market requires?

Tell us the wording before production. Label text is settled when the order is placed.

Where in the Gulf do you deliver from the Dubai office?

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, with operations, finance and distribution for the region run from the Dubai office.

Back to the start page.

Al Shene Marine Holding LLC (Dubai) and Al Shene Marine Ltd. (Scotland) publish this guide; the Founder of the holding is Sultan Rashid Abdullah Rashid Al Shene. Questions are answered in writing only, at info@sultanrashid.com. Company background: Al Shene Marine Holding head office in Dubai.