[link to www.ifanca.org]

"It all began with the South East Asian market requesting halal certification. That was followed, six years ago, with Saudi Arabia making halal certification compulsory for all its edible imports. <snip>
The wakeup call to have plants in the USA halal-certified as well, came after news on a American blog, stating that Abbott's Similac® wasn't halal-certified, was picked up in Malaysia and spread there like wild fire. This was true of Similac made in plants in the USA, for USA distribution, but was not the case with Similac made overseas for distribution in Malaysia. Similac, a leading baby formula in the Malaysian market, is halal-certified and even carries the halal certification logo.
Abbott learned quickly from the experience. To stave off similar scenarios and losses in the future, the company decided to have all its plants, and as many products as possible, certified as halal for markets worldwide. "Not only did it make good business sense, it was also the right thing to do," says Sgontz. "There are 8 million Muslims in the USA and we want to provide nutritional products to as many people as possible. It's the socially responsible thing to do because now our products are not off-limits to Muslims in the USA who need them." Abbott, however, will have a few products that can't be certified as halal since their formulas cannot be changed. "