Ajinomoto is 'halal': Gus Dur

Ajinomoto is 'halal': Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid added further
confusion to the Ajinomoto taste enhancer controversy by claiming
that the product, which was declared as uneatable for Muslims by
the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), is halal since it did not
contain pig enzymes.

The President made the comments after reviewing a study
conducted by the National Institute of Sciences and the Agency
for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

"President Abdurrahman Wahid said the Ajinomoto taste enhancer
is halal," presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar told journalists
after Abdurrahman met with visiting Japanese justice minister
Masahiko Kohumura at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday.

The popular taste enhancer has been recalled and taken off the
shelves across the country after the MUI questioned its
production process which uses an extract derived from pigs
instead of from cows to develop an enzyme needed in the
manufacturing of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Islam forbids consumption of pork or its by-products. The MUI
halal certification indicates that a product is fit for
consumption by Muslims.

Ajinomoto officials maintain the pork enzyme is not present in
the end product.

As a result of the controversy eight top executives, including
three Japanese nationals of PT Ajinomoto Indonesia are currently
being detained by the police.

The company's factory in East Java has also been sealed.

The Batam branch of the Indonesian Council for Islamic
Propagation (DDII) brushed aside Abdurrahman's assertions.

We are still convinced that Ajinomoto contains extracts of
pork as reported by MUI's Food and Drug Analysis Body," Batam's
DDII chairman Ashari Ansyah Noor said as quoted by Antara on
Tuesday evening.

"So even if the President rejects the findings, we are still
be convinced that Ajinomoto is haram (forbidden)."

The withdrawal of the product continued across the country.

Some 3,000 tons of MSG products are being recalled. It is also
effecting the company's other taste enhancers such as Masako.

In North Sumatra Antara reported that 20.4 tons of Ajinomoto
and 1.8 tons of Masako have already been withdrawn from the
market since Monday.

"According to our data, some 100 tons of Ajinomoto were sent
to North Sumatra," the head of the Medan branch of PT Ajinomoto
Sales Indonesia Ariyanto Ben said, adding that the recall should
be completed by Jan. 24.

He added that the company had allocated some Rp 5 million for
the recall including refunds.

Some 60.2 tons of Ajinomoto taste enhancers from Central
Sulawesi are also being shipped back to East Java where the
product's factory is located.

Most of the taste enhancers were collected from provincial
distributor PT Tompotika Raya and the rest from 234 shops and
kiosks across Palu.

In a related development, parent company Ajinomoto Co. on
Tuesday said in Tokyo that there was no pork in the final product
it sells.

Ajinomoto acknowledged that it used an enzyme from pork to
make its products in Indonesia but said: "There is absolutely
none (of the enzyme) in the final Ajinomoto product."

To calm public anger over the issue, Ajinomoto on Tuesday said
two additional products used in cooking would also be withdrawn
from shelves as a precaution.

The New Straits Times newspaper in Kuala Lumpur reported on
Tuesday that an Islamic consumer group in predominantly Muslim
Malaysia is calling for tests to be done on food products made by
the local subsidiary of Ajinomoto to confirm that Muslims can
consume them despite assurances they are halal.

Ajinomoto shares in Tokyo on Tuesday sank by 14.3 percent to
1,194 yen (US$10.31) on worries the problem could spill over to
other Islamic nations.

Ajinomoto accounts for about one third of the global MSG
market. The Indonesian sales are a minor segment.

"The market is wondering if this is an issue only in Indonesia
or would spread to other nations," said Hidenori Kawasaki,
general manager at Kokusai Securities' equities trading division.

Ajinomoto said in a statement that it did not know how much
impact the incident in Indonesia would have on its earnings.

"It is not clear when we will be able to resume selling the
MSG products in Indonesia," a spokesman at Ajinomoto said. (mds)