Ajinomoto is 'halal': Gus Dur<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid added further
\nconfusion to the Ajinomoto taste enhancer controversy by claiming
\nthat the product, which was declared as uneatable for Muslims by
\nthe Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), is halal since it did not
\ncontain pig enzymes.<\/p>\n
The President made the comments after reviewing a study
\nconducted by the National Institute of Sciences and the Agency
\nfor the Assessment and Application of Technology.<\/p>\n
\"President Abdurrahman Wahid said the Ajinomoto taste enhancer
\nis halal,\" presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar told journalists
\nafter Abdurrahman met with visiting Japanese justice minister
\nMasahiko Kohumura at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The popular taste enhancer has been recalled and taken off the
\nshelves across the country after the MUI questioned its
\nproduction process which uses an extract derived from pigs
\ninstead of from cows to develop an enzyme needed in the
\nmanufacturing of monosodium glutamate (MSG).<\/p>\n
Islam forbids consumption of pork or its by-products. The MUI
\nhalal certification indicates that a product is fit for
\nconsumption by Muslims.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto officials maintain the pork enzyme is not present in
\nthe end product.<\/p>\n
As a result of the controversy eight top executives, including
\nthree Japanese nationals of PT Ajinomoto Indonesia are currently
\nbeing detained by the police.<\/p>\n
The company's factory in East Java has also been sealed.<\/p>\n
The Batam branch of the Indonesian Council for Islamic
\nPropagation (DDII) brushed aside Abdurrahman's assertions.<\/p>\n
We are still convinced that Ajinomoto contains extracts of
\npork as reported by MUI's Food and Drug Analysis Body,\" Batam's
\nDDII chairman Ashari Ansyah Noor said as quoted by Antara on
\nTuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\"So even if the President rejects the findings, we are still
\nbe convinced that Ajinomoto is haram (forbidden).\"<\/p>\n
The withdrawal of the product continued across the country.<\/p>\n
Some 3,000 tons of MSG products are being recalled. It is also
\neffecting the company's other taste enhancers such as Masako.<\/p>\n
In North Sumatra Antara reported that 20.4 tons of Ajinomoto
\nand 1.8 tons of Masako have already been withdrawn from the
\nmarket since Monday.<\/p>\n
\"According to our data, some 100 tons of Ajinomoto were sent
\nto North Sumatra,\" the head of the Medan branch of PT Ajinomoto
\nSales Indonesia Ariyanto Ben said, adding that the recall should
\nbe completed by Jan. 24.<\/p>\n
He added that the company had allocated some Rp 5 million for
\nthe recall including refunds.<\/p>\n
Some 60.2 tons of Ajinomoto taste enhancers from Central
\nSulawesi are also being shipped back to East Java where the
\nproduct's factory is located.<\/p>\n
Most of the taste enhancers were collected from provincial
\ndistributor PT Tompotika Raya and the rest from 234 shops and
\nkiosks across Palu.<\/p>\n
In a related development, parent company Ajinomoto Co. on
\nTuesday said in Tokyo that there was no pork in the final product
\nit sells.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto acknowledged that it used an enzyme from pork to
\nmake its products in Indonesia but said: \"There is absolutely
\nnone (of the enzyme) in the final Ajinomoto product.\"<\/p>\n
To calm public anger over the issue, Ajinomoto on Tuesday said
\ntwo additional products used in cooking would also be withdrawn
\nfrom shelves as a precaution.<\/p>\n
The New Straits Times newspaper in Kuala Lumpur reported on
\nTuesday that an Islamic consumer group in predominantly Muslim
\nMalaysia is calling for tests to be done on food products made by
\nthe local subsidiary of Ajinomoto to confirm that Muslims can
\nconsume them despite assurances they are halal.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto shares in Tokyo on Tuesday sank by 14.3 percent to
\n1,194 yen (US$10.31) on worries the problem could spill over to
\nother Islamic nations.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto accounts for about one third of the global MSG
\nmarket. The Indonesian sales are a minor segment.<\/p>\n
\"The market is wondering if this is an issue only in Indonesia
\nor would spread to other nations,\" said Hidenori Kawasaki,
\ngeneral manager at Kokusai Securities' equities trading division.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto said in a statement that it did not know how much
\nimpact the incident in Indonesia would have on its earnings.<\/p>\n
\"It is not clear when we will be able to resume selling the
\nMSG products in Indonesia,\" a spokesman at Ajinomoto said. (mds)<\/p>",
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