Ajinomoto bows to MUI demand on 'halal' products

JAKARTA (JP): Taste enhancer producer PT Ajinomoto Indonesia revealed on Tuesday that it will withdraw all its products from the market, pending halal certification from the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI). Only products with Halal certification are permitted for consumption by Muslims.

Controversy over the halal status of the seasoning surfaced when the council's Food and Drug Analysis Body (LPPOM MUI) found evidence that, since October, PT Ajinomoto had used substances derived from pigs in its production process.

Islam bans pork or any by-product derived from pigs.

The company's Manager of General Affairs and Personnel Department Tjokorda Bagus Sudarta admitted that they had used bactosoytone, extracted from pork, in place of polypeptone, which is extracted from beef, as a medium to cultivate bacteria which produces enzymes needed in the production of the taste enhancer.

"The reason was because it was more economical. But we used it only as a medium. So, it's not included in the final product," he told The Jakarta Post after a closed-door meeting with MUI executives and officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, hosted by the Ministry of Health's Director General of Food and Control, Sampurno.

The result of LPPOM MUI's study, which is mandatory to renew the halal certificate for food and beverages, has led MUI to demand Ajinomoto withdraw its products.

As a result of MUI's demand, Ajinomoto has been using a plant derivative as its medium since the end of November.

As for the products which have already been on the store shelves, Tjokorda said that the company has withdrawn some of the stock.

"We've withdrawn those in the major outlets. We will withdraw the rest soon," he said.

Sampurno refused to comment about the meeting's result, saying that he will reveal comprehensive information on Wednesday.

Separately on Tuesday, the head of LPPOM MUI Aisyah Girindra said that the final product of Ajinomoto is halal, or permitted to be eaten by Muslims.

"The enzymes have a similar function to those in our digestive system. They reduce our food into small pieces, and then they leave after doing their job," she told the Post.

But based on MUI's guidance issued in 1994, she added, it is forbidden to use pork products.

"Therefore, we must adhere to the guidance," she added.

Meanwhile, Antara reported on Tuesday that many residents of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, threw away their Ajinomoto products and rushed to local stores to purchase an alternative brand of taste enhancers.

"We'd rather lose our money by throwing away our supplies of dubious Ajinomoto. I won't let my family eat haram (the opposite of halal) food," said Nordahliana, a resident of Banjar Timur sub district.

Catalyst

Sunarto Prawirosujanto, chairman of the Association of Monosodiumglutamate (MSG) and Glutamic Acid (GA) Factories (P2MI), said that the much talked about enzymes only function as a catalyst in the production process and therefore will not be included in the molecules of MSG and GA.

Catalysts are commonly used in a chemical reaction to, for instance, speed up the reaction. It is often analogized as a matchmaker, as it is not included in the reaction.

In his statement on Tuesday, Sunarto, who is also a pharmacist, specified that the taste enhancer MSG is produced by the chemical reaction between molasses and ammonia.

With the help of enzymes, both ingredients are changed into GA. GA is then neutralized by Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and changed into MSG, which is sold under the name of Ajinomoto or other brands.

During the first process of GA production, Sunarto said, enzymes do not undergo any changes because of their function as a catalyst, and they are not included in the GA molecules.

In order to get the required number of enzymes, bacteria is cultivated in a medium such as peptone, or in this case bactosoytone, which is then eaten by the bacteria.

Therefore, according to Sunarto, MSG is free from peptone and enzymes. Even if bactosoytone is indeed a pork product, it will not be found in the molecules of MSG and GA as it has already been consumed by the bacteria.(hdn)