Restaurant Management Problems under Certified Halal Food Standard in Three Southernmost Provinces of Thailand

Abstract

This research aims to study restaurant management problems under the Halal food standards in the three southern border provinces of Thailand. This research was a qualitative by using a review of document data, articles and in-depth interviews from the restaurant owners who requested Halal certification for continues of 3 years for 15 restaurants. Also the restaurant owners who do not requested Halal certification for 15 restaurants, 45 customers were interviewed as key informants. The expert forum was set among related academics and stakeholder in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. The research results are as follows: (1) The environment is not supported to Halal standard requirement. (2) Some Halal raw materials are more expensive. (3) The food menu does not meet the requirement and cannot control order of customers. (4) Some employees are not Muslims. They do not follow religious rules. (5) Specialized capabilities and features of employees are not following criterions. (6) Some of the restaurant owner is different religion. They are not understanding of rules and standard of Halal certification. (7) The Muslims restaurant owner think that it is not necessary to request certification. (8) Restaurant owners are affected by economic problems from unrest in the three southern border provinces and (9) Requesting a Halal certificate is a difficult process, take a long time and high service rate. From all problems, it can be considered as enhancing guideline to Halal standard in three southern border provinces of Thailand.