On the 12th day of the month of Shawwal (March 31), the Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil hazrat Samigullin took part in the plenary session of the 14th All-Russian Congress of Entrepreneurs from Tatar Villages. The event was organized by the World Congress of the Tatars. Among the honored guests of the event were the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, as well as a total of 900 delegates from 37 regions of Russia – representatives of small businesses, farmers, and owners of private household plots.
This congress is noteworthy for the Tatar-Muslims of Russia due to its attention to issues of halal product production. In this regard, the Chairman of the Halal Standard Committee of the Spiritual Muslim Board of Tatarstan (SMB RT), Abbaz hazrat Shlyaposhnikov, also took part in the event.
Before the session, the Rais of Tatarstan, together with the Mufti and other leaders, toured an exhibition-fair showcasing products and folk crafts from various regions of the country. 127 entrepreneurs took part in the exhibition-fair.
Visitors could see halal products (sausages, goose meat), items of national clothing, jewelry, souvenirs, tea, honey, and others.
The Halal Standard Committee of the SMB RT also had its own stand. The Committee’s exhibition presented its activities and achievements in the field of halal certification. Furthermore, next to the stand, in the presence of the Rais of Tatarstan and the Mufti, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Office of Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) for the Republic of Tatarstan and the Halal Standard Committee of the SMB RT. The cooperation agreement was signed by the Chairman of the Committee, Abbaz hazrat Shlyaposhnikov, and the Head of Rospotrebnadzor, Marina Patyashina.
Then the plenary session took place. During the meeting, Abbaz hazrat Shlyaposhnikov spoke. He spoke about the key areas of the Committee’s work: “Over 27 years, we have come a long way from a regional certification body to a leader in the Russian halal industry and a reliable international partner whose decisions are recognized on five continents. This path was not easy, but today we can confidently say that the Halal Standard Committee of the SMB RT is not just a certification body, but a center of expertise that unites science, practice, religious expertise, and international cooperation,” he noted. Abbaz hazrat reminded that starting from September 2025, a new system for accrediting halal certification bodies was introduced in Russia, and on March 6, 2026, the Committee became the first official body in Russian history to receive state accreditation under the new GOST (state standard) for halal from the Federal Accreditation Service (Rosakkreditatsiya).
During the plenary session, the head of Rosakkreditatsiya, Dmitry Volvach, presented the accreditation certificate for the Halal Standard Committee of the SMB RT to the Committee’s chairman, Abbaz Shlyaposhnikov. He, in turn, presented the first certificates of compliance with the Halal standard to the Zelenodolsk Dairy Processing Plant, the companies “Chisto Fri,” and “Itle-Kitchen.”
