BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Concerns for Halalness of Halal-labelled Food Products among Muslim Consumers
in Malaysia: Evaluation of Selected Demographic Factors
Prof. Dr. Zainal Abidin Mohamed
Golnaz Rezai and Mad Nasir Shamsudin
Faculty of Agriculture, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 4121; zam@agri.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Consumers concern, halalness, halal food products, religiosity, halal logo
Soil Physical Properties Calculator
Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd. Amin Mohd. Soom
Aimrun Wayayok and Mastura Mohamed
Institute of Advanced Technology, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 6427; amin@eng.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Soil texture, soil apparent electrical conductivity, particle size distribution, saturated hydraulic conductivity
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Agriculture
The introduction of Halal logo by the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) has triggered
a greater awareness among the Muslim communities about the importance of consuming products or engaging in
services that follow Islamic guidelines and principles. Unfortunately there is a lack of enforcement in monitoring
the usage of certified Halal logo causing the public to question the validity of some of the products that are
claimed to be Halal. This Paper focuses on the concerns of Muslim consumers in Malaysia about the Halalness
of manufactured foods which carry Halal logo. Cross-sectional consumer data were collected in a survey of 1,560
Muslim respondents in 2008. The results of this study show the consumers from East part of Peninsular Malaysia;
with higher level religiosity and also education level of are more likely to be concerned about the Halal status of
food products. Understanding of the extant of consumers’ concerns towards the Halalness of Halal labeled food
products from the religious viewpoint and relevant policy formulation in ensuring Halalness of food products are
vital in order to make Malaysia a successful World Halal Food Hub by 2020.
The study on sensor-based measurement such as Veris 3100 and soil particle size distribution (PSD) related
to soil quality is useful for precision farming. It helps in determining soil variability and root growth which can
be used in site specific management. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether sensor-based
apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) could be used as indicator of soil texture. A model of the soil physical
properties can be developed based on the ECa values. This ECa sensor was pulled across 380 ha paddy field and
used in conjunction with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receiver. ECa data were geo-referenced
to create spatial variability map. Soil samples were taken by referring to the ECa zones and located by using
RTK GPS. The samples were sent to the laboratory to analyse the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) using pipette
method and the textural class were determined by Texture Auto Lookup (TAL) using Excel. From mean of soil
distribution size, the soil texture class for the study area was silty clay. The correlations analysis shows that deep
ECa and percentage of clay were significantly correlated with r=0.701**. Significant correlation were found for
deep ECa and the percentage of sand(r=0.479**) and for silt, (r=0.533**). From the results, the study shows that
the relation of PSD to deep ECa has high significance. Therefore ECa can be used to predict soil PSD of paddy
soils in the study area. The model developed from the regression analysis, can be used as an estimator of other
soil properties. Consequently, the saturated hydraulic conductivity or deep percolation rate of the soil can also be
estimated from the calculated soil textures. A graphical user interface was created to show the various estimated
textures and percolation rate of the paddy soils.