What Is MS 1500, the Malaysian Halal Standard
Published by HalalBoss, an independent register on 6 July 2026
MS 1500:2019 is the Malaysian Standard titled Halal Food: General Requirements, published by the Department of Standards Malaysia. It sets the general guidelines for producing, handling and storing halal food, and it is the technical benchmark that JAKIM halal certification and recognition are assessed against. The 2019 edition is the third revision, issued in January 2019.
MS 1500 is the Malaysian Standard for halal food. Its current edition, MS 1500:2019, carries the title “Halal Food: General Requirements” and is published by the Department of Standards Malaysia. When JAKIM or one of its recognised certification bodies assesses a producer, MS 1500 is the technical benchmark the audit is measured against. Understanding the standard is therefore the first step to understanding what a JAKIM-linked halal certificate actually certifies.
This guide explains what MS 1500 is, who issues it, what the 2019 revision changed, and how the standard connects to certification and recognition.
What MS 1500 is
MS 1500 is a written technical standard, not a certificate and not a certifying organisation. It specifies the general requirements for the manufacturing and handling of halal food, including nutrient supplements, and serves as the baseline reference for halal food in Malaysia. The document defines the key terms used across the sector, sets out the conditions under which food may be treated as halal, and describes the controls a producer is expected to have in place.
Because a standard is a stable, published reference, it lets buyers, auditors and regulators talk about halal in the same technical language. A halal certificate issued in Malaysia points back to conformity with MS 1500, which is why the standard sits underneath the whole certification system rather than beside it.
Who publishes MS 1500
MS 1500 is issued by the Department of Standards Malaysia, known in Malay as Jabatan Standard Malaysia and in English as Standards Malaysia. This department is the national standards body, and it develops and publishes Malaysian Standards under the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996. Standards are drafted through technical committees, then adopted and released under the MS designation.
Approval as a Malaysian Standard is governed by that Act, and the use of a Malaysian Standard is voluntary except where a regulatory authority makes it mandatory. In the halal context, JAKIM and the halal certification framework give MS 1500 practical force by requiring conformity as a condition of certification.
What the standard covers
MS 1500:2019 addresses halal food across its full life cycle: production, preparation, handling and storage. The requirements span several areas that recur in every halal audit.
| Area | What MS 1500 requires |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Every ingredient, including additives, processing aids and animal-derived materials, must be halal and supported by documentation. |
| Facilities and hygiene | Premises, equipment and sanitation must meet hygiene and food-safety conditions, with animals kept out of production areas. |
| Cross contamination | Halal and non-halal materials must be separated, and shared lines require documented cleaning and changeover procedures. |
| Traceability | Records and certificates must trace risk ingredients back through the supply chain. |
| Storage and handling | Halal integrity must be maintained through storage, transport and display, not only at the point of production. |
The standard treats hygiene, sanitation and food safety as prerequisites rather than optional extras, so frameworks such as HACCP support conformity without replacing MS 1500. The scope is halal integrity as a system, from raw material to finished product.
What the 2019 revision changed
MS 1500:2019 is the third revision of the standard, issued on 3 January 2019, replacing MS 1500:2009. The revision added and clarified several clauses, expanded the terms and definitions section, and, most notably, removed the halal slaughtering provisions from the general food standard. Slaughtering is now addressed through dedicated slaughtering-specific standards, which lets MS 1500 concentrate on general food requirements while the more specialised subject is handled in its own document.
For a producer, the practical effect is that a food operation is audited against the general requirements in MS 1500, while an abattoir works to the slaughtering standards. Both feed into the same certification outcome.
How MS 1500 connects to JAKIM certification and recognition
MS 1500 is the standard; JAKIM certification is the assessment against it. A Malaysian producer applying for halal certification is audited for conformity with MS 1500, and the certificate confirms that the audit was passed. The same logic extends beyond Malaysia. When JAKIM evaluates a certification body in another country for recognition, part of what it checks is whether that body certifies against standards equivalent to Malaysia’s, MS 1500 among them.
That is why the standard matters to anyone tracking the recognised bodies in this directory. A certificate is only as strong as the standard behind it, and MS 1500 is the reference point that keeps certificates comparable across markets. If you are planning a certification project, see how a certifier earns Malaysian acceptance in what JAKIM recognition is and the steps involved in how to become JAKIM recognised. Exporters weighing which credential to hold can compare the trade angle in halal certification for export.
Key takeaways
MS 1500 is a published Malaysian Standard, MS 1500:2019 is its current third revision, and the Department of Standards Malaysia is the body that issues it. It sets general requirements for halal food across production, handling and storage, it now leaves slaughtering to dedicated standards, and it is the technical benchmark that JAKIM certification and recognition are assessed against. Treat it as the reference document that gives a halal certificate its meaning.