Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA)

The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) is a not-for-profit halal certification organization headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, in the United States. Founded in 1982, it has grown into one of the most widely recognised halal certifiers in the American market, and its certification is commonly found on US-produced goods exported to Muslim-majority countries.

IFANCA certifies food, beverages, cosmetics and personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and nutritional and dietary supplements. Certified products carry the organization’s registered Crescent-M mark, a trademark that tells consumers the product is halal. The certification process runs through five stages: application, agreement and quotation, technical review, an on-site audit conducted by a halal technical auditor together with an Islamic affairs expert, and a final review by the Halal Certification Committee.

The council is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17065 product certification standard by ANAB, the ANSI National Accreditation Board, and holds further accreditations from BPJPH in Indonesia, EIAC in the United Arab Emirates, the GCC Accreditation Center, HAK in Turkiye, and PNAC in Pakistan. Regulatory and religious authorities that recognise IFANCA include JAKIM in Malaysia, MUIS in Singapore, SASO and the SFDA in Saudi Arabia, IMANOR in Morocco, the Pakistan Halal Authority, Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health, and CICOT in Thailand. IFANCA is also a founding member of the World Halal Food Council.

Beyond certification, IFANCA runs consumer education programs, publishes the quarterly Halal Consumer magazine, and supports university partnerships and industry conferences, positioning itself as both a certifier and an advocacy institution for halal consumers.