Dr. Ali Fanous is the Certification Unit Manager at HALAL CONTROL GmbH in Rüsselsheim am Main, Germany, a position he has held since May 2009. In this role he leads document inspections, conducts Halal audits, supports companies in implementing Halal Assurance Systems, and delivers Halal training for Halal supervisors.

He holds a Ph.D. (2009) and an M.Sc. (2006) in Technology and Biotechnology of Food from the Technical University of Munich / Weihenstephan (TUM), where his doctoral research at the Scientific Centre Weihenstephan focused on the proteome analysis of heavy metal stress (cadmium, mercury, cobalt, silver and lead) in Corynebacterium glutamicum. His earlier degree in Food Science was completed at Aleppo University, Syria, with practical training in seed analysis, biotechnology and molecular biology in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Dr. Fanous has completed extensive professional training in audit methodology, food safety and Halal conformity assessment, including FSSC 22000, ISO 22000:2018, ISO/IEC 17021-1, ISO/IEC 17024, ISO/IEC 17065, ISO 19011, the GCC Halal standard GSO 2055-2, and the OIC/SMIIC 1-2:2019 standard, as well as technical training programmes with BPJPH Indonesia and JAKIM Malaysia.

He has contributed scientific presentations to numerous international forums, including the World Halal Research conference (Kuala Lumpur), the First Gulf Conference on Halal Industry (Kuwait), the 1st International Conference on Halal Food Control (Riyadh), Halal Food Middle East (Sharjah), the GIMDES International Halal and Tayyib Conference (Istanbul), the World Halal Summit, the Congress of Halal Quality (Sarajevo, 2023), and the Makkah Halal Forum (2024). He has authored peer-reviewed publications in Chemosphere, Proteomics, Fresenius Environmental Bulletin and the Journal of Environmental Science and Health, and serves on the editorial board of Advances in Food Sciences and the advisory board of Fresenius Environmental Bulletin.

At the 4th European Halal Congress, Dr. Fanous presents on Halal Certification and the Challenges Facing It.