Halal Food Tasting Event Held At Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) held a halal-food tasting event at its Okayama Campus. About 20 Muslim students from various departments of the institute participated in the tasting event for the halal foods which are to be added in the campus cafeterias. The cafeterias have been serving halal food to their Muslim customers since 2010.

The university cafes offered 10  new halal food items at the recently held tasting event.  The foods included 3 kinds of yellow curries, chicken with tomato sauce, beef tossed with tomato sauce, boiled chicken with grated daikon, chicken teriyaki, fried chicken bowl, beef bowl, and soy sauce ramen with chicken. One taster commented, “I’ve wanted to try the beef bowl and ramen ever since arriving in Japan. It is like a dream come true that I can taste these Japanese foods without having to worry about the halalness of their ingredients.  

Executive Director, Nobuhiko Hirano of the TIT at said on the tasting occasion, “If you are trying to adhere to strict halal requirements, you need to ensure that there is no mixing of halal and non-halal ingredients and wash tableware separately from other tableware, which are difficult tasks in practice. The Tokyo Tech University Co-op made six commitments pertaining to the offering of its Halal Recommended Menu. We also provided an opportunity for Muslim students to give us feedback through a tasting event.”

Tokyo Tech University Co-op’s Six Commitments to the halal dishes it serves to its Muslim students in its Halal Recommended Menu

1. No pork or its by-products will be served to the adherents of Islam
2. No alcohol from any source will be added to the Halal foods prepared for Muslim students
3. Slaughtering of animals will be according to Islamic Law, and the processed meat must be certified according to the Malaysian government’s “Malaysian Standard on Halal Food.”
4. No mixing with non-halal raw materials/ingredients
5. All seasonings/additives will be halal
6. Separate cooking utensils/equipment are used for the Halal Recommended Menu and the Regular Menu

The tasting event is another attempt by the Japanese restaurants at the university to make Japanese food acceptable for its Muslim students as most of these students have stayed away form the menu items being offered at these restaurants because these foods had Haram ingredients.