Food laws to regulate 'halal' label: Soeharto

Food laws to regulate 'halal' label: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that all halal
food packages must, in the future, bear a label stating the
contents are suitable for Moslems to consume.

State Minister of Food Ibrahim Hasan told reporters after
meeting with the President at the latter's residence on Jl.
Cendana here that the labeling will be obligatory, so Moslems can
be sure whether or not they can consume the food.

Ibrahim said the requirement will be included in the Food Law,
which is currently being formulated, and will be enforced by a
government regulation.

"The bill (for the Food Law) is still being worked on,"
Ibrahim said.

He added his office will take coordinative actions with the
Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Indonesian Ulemas Council.

Aside from the issue of the halal labeling, Ibrahim also
informed Soeharto on the food structure and composition of the
average Indonesian diet, which is presently about 3,000 calories
a day.

"But we must be careful because 65 percent of this amount is
derived from carbohydrates. And 75 percent of the carbohydrate
comes from rice," he said.

Ibrahim pointed out that Indonesians must cut back their
consumption of rice and diversify their diet to include other
sources of carbohydrates such as corn, flour, sago flour,
soybeans and potatoes.

But he acknowledged that farmers are still finding it
difficult to get good-quality and sufficient quantities of seeds
for such commodities.

To rectify this, Ibrahim said, Soeharto has asked agricultural
researchers to formulate new types of high-quality seedlings
which can be used by farmers.

Indonesia currently imports some 70,000 tons of potatoes each
year because the quality of local products has not yet met the
standards of food processing plants.

Ibrahim said there is currently ample opportunity for foreign
investors to join hands with local business people to develop
such commodities. (pwn)