The Philippines will be conducting public hearings in order to standardise guidelines for Halal food.

The Department of Trade and Instustry (DTI) is expected to start the hearings on October 20 in Mindanao, which is where most of the Filipino Muslims can be found. Further sessions will also be held in Cebu City and Visayas.

At the end of the exercise, the government hopes to establish a National Halal Standard for food that would regulate manufacturers who want to export Halal food to overseas markets. 

The Standard was originally drafted in 2008 to ensure the local Muslims were receiving Halal food.

More than 200 industry personnel from hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, export firms, government agencies, consumer organisations, academia and religious schools are expected to attend each hearing.