Working group CEN BT/WG 212 – Halal food was established to analize the possibility for development of European standard on requrements for halal food. The first meeting was held in late October 2010 in Wienna, and the members of the Working group agreed that European standard on halal food should cover all foodstuffs and not be limited only to meet products. Moreover, Working group has decided to focus on whole food chain and not just to some of its parts like production. The second and third meeting of the Working Group was held respectively in Antalya in February 2011, and in Brussels in November 2011.

Experts from Austria, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Belgium, FYR Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and hosts from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated at the meeting in Sarajevo. They worked on finalizing Feasibility Study report and submitting it to CEN Technical Board.

The initiative for establishment of bodies for halal food control was initiated in 2002 and the procedure for development of Bosnian standard for halal food started in 2005. Representatives of the Institute for Standardization of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Islamic community of BiH and experts in various scientific areas related to halal issues - veterinary medicine, agriculture and food technology have participated in this activity. After the Islamic Fatwa Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed that draft standards were in accordance with Sharia norms, the first edition of Bosnia and Herzegovina halal standard has been successfully published in 2007, as BAS 1049:2007 Halal food, Requirements and measures. Basis for development of this standard was the Codex document CAC/GL 24-1997 General guidelines for use of the term “halal”.

In accordance with the Law on legal position of churches and religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for Halal Quality Certification has been registered as a specialized institution for certification and control of halal products, and trademark of halal products has been registered at the Institute for Intellectual Property. After the registration Halal standard was used as a basic document for the establishment of Halal status of products and has been implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in all neighboring countries created after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia. Institutes for standardization from neighboring countries adopted Bosnia and Herzegovina standard under appropriate procedure and approved its implementation in the area of halal certification.

In recent years, representatives of the Institute for Standardization of BiH and the Agency for Halal Quality Certification are actively involved in all important processes of halal standardization on international level. They participated in the work of OIC SEG (Organization of the Islamic Cooperation Standardization Expert Group) in the process of development of halal food standard that is subsequently registered as SMIIC ( Standards and Metrology Institute for the Islamic Countries) standard. Agency for Halal Quality Certification has been active in the process of developing of Halal Guidelines IHIA (International Halal Integrity Alliance). By its previous participation in the work of CEN BT/WG 212 the Institute and the Agency have demonstrated that they actively and constructively participate in and contribute to the process of Halal standardization in Europe.