BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Agriculture
Are Non-muslims Aware of the Principles of Halal Food Products in Malaysia?
Dr. Golnaz Rezai
Zainalabidin Mohamed, Mad Nasir Shamsudin and Eddie Chiew Fook Chong
Faculty of Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 4120; rgolnaz@putra.upm.edu.my
Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted and all foods consumed by Muslims must meet this
Islamic dietary code. It also stands for just and fair business transactions, caring for animals and the environment,
social justice and welfare. It is not limited to what the public mostly perceived, confined or restricted only to
the slaughtering of animals for consumption by Muslims, but encompasses products and services of the highest
quality to meet the ever increasing awareness and needs of consumers in a demanding global market. Although
the Halal concept has not been a major element in the non-Muslim consumers living in an Islamic country,
however, whether the non-Muslim consumers are aware of the underlying advantages that come with Halal food
products or their viewpoint from its religious belief, are some intriguing questions that need to be answered. A
survey was conducted in the Klang Valley Selangor where 400 non-Muslim respondents were interviewed via
structured questionnaires to gather information on their awareness and attitude towards Halal food products in the
Malaysian food market. Descriptive statistic was used to identify the socio-economic/demographic characteristics
and attitudes of the respondents toward the Halal food principles. The logit model was used to determine the
extent to which selected socio-economic/demographic characteristics influenced the respondents’ attitude and
understanding on Halal principles and Halal food products. The results of this study suggest that non-Muslim
consumers are aware of the existence of Halal food and Halal logo on food products. In general, various socioeconomic/demographic
and attitudinal characteristics significantly influenced the likelihood of respondents in
understanding of Halal principles and concepts.
Keywords: Halal food, demographic characteristics, halal principle, non-muslim consumers, logit model
Production of Pisang Nangka (AAB) Disease Tolerant by Expressing the Rice
Thaumatin-like Protein (TLP) Gene
Prof. Dr. Maziah Mahmood
Fatemeh Mahdavi Darvari, Sariah Moen and Mohd. Puad Abdullah
Institute of Tropical Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 6703; maziahm@biotech.upm.edu.my
Banana is a staple food for millions of people in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world and their
export contributes to the economies of many countries. But, in recent years, their production has been seriously
threatened by diseases. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxsiporum f.sp. cubense fungus, is one of the most
important diseases of banana (Musa spp.). It is prevalent in all banana-growing countries, especially Southeast
Asia and caused significant yield losses. Among four races of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense, only three of them
(Race 1, 2 and 4) affect banana and Race four the is most destructive. The wide spread presence of race 4 of the
pathogen has been reported as a serious disease for most of the banana cultivars such as Pisang Nangka (AAB).
In this research we transferred the rice thaumatin-like protein gene and evaluated the effect of its expression
over Fusarium oxsiporum f.sp. cubense race 4 in Pisang Nangka which has a big market in Malaysia. The
objective of the study was to produce a new tolerant cultivar of Pisang Nangka to Fusarium wilt which will be
used for plantation scale. The obtained results confirmed by PCR, Southern blot and RT-PCR techniques showed
the presence and expression of rice thaumatin-like protein gene in genomic DNA transformed plants. Besides,
the transgenic plants showed significant resistance against Fusarium wilt after their inoculation with Fusarium
oxsiporum f.sp. cubense race 4 spores suspension. We have, therefore, successfully produced a new tolerant
cultivar of Pisang Nangka (AAB) and at the same time overcome the Fusarium wilt disease significantly.
Keywords: Genetic engineering, pisang nangka, fusarium wilt, thaumatin-like protein
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