Is 'halal' label 'halal'?<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agiel Munawar issued two
\ndecrees on halal labeling (fulfilling the requirements of Islamic
\ndietary law) in November 2001. The decree obliges users of halal
\nlabels to buy a kind of sticker.<\/p>\n
So far producers or importers holding halal certificates have
\nput halal labels, not necessarily in the form of stickers, on the
\npackages of their products, without additional payment. But
\npursuant to the two new ministerial decrees the state-owned
\nbanknote printing company Peruri is the only institution
\nentrusted with printing durable and authentic halal labels.<\/p>\n
Oddly, the first of those ministerial decrees on determining
\nhalal foods was signed on Nov. 30 but the second decree on the
\nappointment of Peruri as the only label producer was effective
\nfrom Nov. 10, 20 days before the signing of the first decree.
\nThere has been no explanation of this oddity.<\/p>\n
No wonder anxiety over soaring production costs is followed by
\nassumptions that the decrees reek of corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, halal certificates are given not only for
\nfoodstuffs, but also to restaurants. The Singapore Islamic
\nCouncil has a list of hundreds of restaurants\/food stalls with
\nhalal certificates, which are strictly controlled.<\/p>\n
The religious affairs ministry should be able to prove its
\nability to provide benefits instead of troubling the community.<\/p>\n
-- Business Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/is-halal-label-halal-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }