MUI inspects Ajinomoto plant<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): A delegation from the Indonesian Ulemas Council
\n(MUI) visited on Thursday the Ajinomoto factory in Mojokerto,
\nEast Java, to inspect the company's taste enhancers production
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
"We are here to check on the production process of the
\nmonosodium glutamate (MSG) and whether the company has met with
\nits commitments," MUI secretary general Din Syamsuddin said
\nduring the visit.<\/p>\n
PT Ajinomoto has asked to be granted a halal label in a
\nmeeting with MUI board on Jan. 30 following a major controversy
\nover in which it was forced to withdraw its taste enhancer
\nproduct.<\/p>\n
MUI last year found that the company had used pork in its MSG
\nmaking process.<\/p>\n
The MUI entourage visiting the factory included chairman Umar
\nShihab and MUI executives Ma'aruf Amin, Amidhan and director of
\nMUI's research laboratory Aisyah Girindra.<\/p>\n
The group met with Ajinomoto's Manager of Production Control
\nand Purchasing Unit Djati Yuniarto and Ajinomoto's lawyer Amir
\nSyamsuddin.<\/p>\n
The company's management revealed that a total of 10,000 tons
\nof taste enhancer which used a bactosoytone medium -- which
\ncontains pig enzymes as its catalyst -- were recalled from the
\nmarket between September to December.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto said it has since switched to mameno enzymes --
\nextracted from soybeans -- instead of the pork-based bactosoytone
\nenzyme in producing MSG.<\/p>\n
The company's factory in Mojokerto, however, was still not
\nfully operational but all of its 1,500 workers still reported to
\nwork as usual.<\/p>\n
The use of pork enzymes in the production of Ajinomoto's MSG
\nproduct caused a public furor last month in the country, which is
\n80 percent Muslim.<\/p>\n
Muslims are forbidden under Islamic law to consume pork or
\npork by-products.<\/p>\n
Ajinomoto's management on Thursday "guaranteed that all of its
\npork-tainted products will be recalled from the market and will
\nnot be distributed in Indonesia."(edt\/nur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mui-inspects-ajinomoto-plant-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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