For nearly four decades, one family’s dedication to Islamic dietary standards has quietly reshaped how American businesses serve halal-conscious consumers. Halal Watch Certification, founded in 1985 by Imam W.D. Umar, began as a modest newsletter aimed at bringing rigorous Islamic compliance standards to the American food industry. Today, it stands as a nationally recognized, internationally accredited halal certification body—a testament to what sustained faith, integrity, and vision can build.
A Family Legacy, Carried Forward
Halal Watch’s story is, at its heart, a family story. Imam W.D. Umar planted the seed in 1985, understanding that Muslim consumers in America needed more than good intentions from food producers—they needed verified, documented assurance that what reached their tables truly honored Islamic law. That grassroots effort grew steadily over the years into a trusted institution.
Following Imam Umar’s recent passing, his son, Imam Mansoor Rafiq Umar, has stepped into leadership as CEO and President, carrying his father’s mission forward with the same commitment to scholarly rigor and community accountability. Imam Mansoor brings his own distinguished record of service to the role: he is a gubernatorial appointee and Executive Committee member of the NYS Office of Faith, serves as Imam at the Muslim Community Center of the Capital District (MCBNY), and is Chaplain Imam at the University at Albany (SUNY).
Under his leadership, Halal Watch continues to certify products ranging from meat and dairy to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics for companies across the United States and beyond—a fitting continuation of a legacy built on faith and integrity.
What Halal Watch Does
At its core, Halal Watch provides third-party auditing and certification services that verify that a business’s products, ingredients, and processes comply with Islamic dietary law. For companies working in food service, meat and poultry, dairy, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, chemicals, private-label goods, packaging, or distribution, that verification allows them to display a halal seal that consumers, retailers, and regulators can trust.
The certification process is structured and transparent, typically completed within two to three weeks:
- Initial contact and proposal: Businesses discuss their operations with Halal Watch and receive a tailored proposal, generally within one business day.
- Contract and confidentiality agreement: The company signs a service agreement and a nondisclosure agreement to protect its proprietary information.
- Deposit and account activation: A deposit initiates the certification process and document review.
- Document review: Ingredient lists, supplier declarations, production flowcharts, and sanitation records are reviewed for compliance and traceability.
- Facility audit: Trained auditors conduct an on-site inspection covering sourcing, storage, equipment sanitation, staff practices, and labeling.
- Certification: Once all requirements are satisfied, the business receives its official halal certification and access to Halal Watch’s broader procurement network.
Annual certification costs generally range from $3,000 to $5,000, depending on facility size and product scope—a modest investment compared with the markets and opportunities certification can open.
Building Knowledge Alongside Certification
Complementing the work of halal certification, the U.S. Department of Halal Standards offers training at three levels: halal sensitivity and awareness for employees and staff, systems implementation for businesses establishing halal operations, and certifying-standards instruction for certification bodies working with the HIPS framework.
Together, these programs help ensure that halal integrity is understood and maintained at every level—from daily handling inside a facility to professional auditing and certification. This emphasis on education strengthens the halal ecosystem by giving employees, businesses, and certifying organizations the practical knowledge needed to preserve compliance and consumer trust throughout the supply chain.
Accreditation That Opens Global Markets
What sets Halal Watch apart in a crowded field of certifiers is the breadth of its recognition. The organization is accredited by the GCC Accreditation Center (GAC) and recognized by the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT), South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), and the National Independent Halaal Trust (NIHT).
Its certificates are accepted in more than 190 global markets, giving certified businesses a genuine pathway into the estimated $3 trillion global halal economy—a sector serving more than two billion halal-conscious consumers worldwide and growing at approximately 9.5 percent annually.
Halal Watch is also a New York State-registered halal certifier, holds a federally registered trademark, and works directly with agencies including the USDA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
A Record of Public Impact
Beyond private-sector certification, the Umar family’s work through Halal Watch has shaped public policy and institutional access to halal food in meaningful ways:
- Pioneering legislation: Halal Watch helped develop and implement one of the first halal laws in the United States, enacted in Paterson, New Jersey, in 2000—helping lay the groundwork for halal compliance and enforcement standards nationally.
- Feeding New York City’s students: Since 2018, Halal Watch has certified halal food for more than 43 New York City public schools, a program now cited as a national model for religiously and culturally responsive school nutrition.
- Serving incarcerated communities: Since 1985, the organization has managed halal food procurement for New York State correctional facilities in partnership with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, helping ensure that Muslims in custody retain access to compliant meals.
Why This Work Matters
Halal Watch’s growth from a single newsletter to a business now certifying more than 100 clients—with products reaching shelves at retailers such as Costco, Walmart, Wegmans, and Restaurant Depot—illustrates something MANA’s community understands well: institutions built on faith and sustained by family commitment can achieve national, even global, reach without losing sight of their founding purpose.
As Imam Mansoor Rafiq Umar continues his father’s work, Halal Watch remains a model of what is possible when religious conviction meets rigorous business practice—protecting Muslim consumers, opening markets for American companies, and honoring a legacy nearly forty years in the making.
Learn more about Halal Watch Certification at halalwatch.us and explore the training programs at the U.S. Department of Halal Standards.
Barakah Nurah is an AI research and writing agent that identifies, synthesizes, and transforms publicly available information into accessible articles. The agent’s work is guided and reviewed by MANA’s editorial team for accuracy, clarity, and alignment with MANA’s mission and values.
