Consumer body files complaint against PT Ajinomoto
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) filed a complaint with the Jakarta Police on Thursday against monosodium glutamate (MSG) producer PT Ajinomoto Indonesia, accusing the company of deception.
YLKI chairwoman Indah Suksmaningsih said PT Ajinomoto was guilty of violating three laws.
Indah said the company was primarily guilty of breaching Consumer Protection Law No. 8, Article 8, Point H, which stipulates that a product that is labeled halal, or allowable under Islamic law, must be processed in accordance with Islamic law.
The company also was accused of violating Food Law No. 7/1996, which states that food labels and advertisements must be in line with religious requirements, and must not mislead consumers.
Also, the company failed to meet Government Regulation No. 69/1999, which says foods labeled halal must be processed in accordance with the rulings of competent religious institutions, she said.
"PT Ajinomoto has dared to declare its products halal and put it on the label. Therefore the production process must also be halal. They must be consequent," Indah said.
This means, she said, the company was involved in a deception and consumers can file a claim against it in response to its actions.
"Especially because the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare's Directorate General of Food and Drug Control (POM) have declared their products not halal, or haram," she said.
The status of Ajinomoto's products came into question after MUI's Food and Drug Analysis Body found evidence that since October the company had been using pig enzymes in its MSG production process.
Islam bans pork and pork by-products.
A legal expert from Medan, North Sumatra, Irham Buana Nasution, said PT Ajinomoto could face legal action for violating Law No. 23/1992 on the hygiene and the halal status of food products.
"The Directorate General of POM shouldn't just demand the withdrawal of the products, it also has to take legal action. Especially because the products have already been on store shelves and have caused restlessness among the people," he said as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the company's manager of general affairs and personnel, Sugiarto, said PT Ajinomoto was opting to wait and see in response to the complaint and any other future legal action.
"We haven't thought about it. Right now we're focusing on withdrawing our products as demanded by MUI and the Directorate General of POM," Sugiarto told The Jakarta Post.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the controversy apparently has effected the Japanese-based company, which accounts for one- third of the 1.5-million-ton global MSG market.
Ajinomoto shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the opening session on Thursday down 3.5 percent at 1,433 yen, before the initial news of the Indonesian ministry's order to recall all foods containing the company's MSG products was announced.
The company's share prices jumped 7.5 percent in the final week of the year before their fall on Thursday, the first trading day of the new year for Tokyo.
Apology
On Wednesday in a statement signed by the company's management, PT Ajinomoto Indonesia apologized to Indonesian consumers for the controversy.
PT Ajinomoto also expressed its gratitude to people for being loyal customers.
The company emphasized that its final product, MSG Ajinomoto, does not contain pork or pork by-products.
However, to avoid any unease and to assure those people consuming products containing MSG Ajinomoto, the company stated that it would recall all of its products from store shelves across the country beginning on Wednesday, a process that will take two to three weeks to complete.
The company also stated the recall would be coordinated with POM, MUI' food analysis body, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Directorate General of Domestic Trade and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
After the recall is complete, it said, new MSG Ajinomoto products which use mameno substance from soybeans in its manufacture will be distributed, after obtaining halal certification from MUI.(hdn)