Government Ensures US Products Must Be Halal, Certification in Country of Origin
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The government has affirmed that products originating from the United States entering Indonesia must still undergo halal certification, even though the certification process can be carried out in the country of origin through a mutual recognition agreement (MRA).
The Head of the Agency for Standardization and Industrial Service Policy (BSKJI) at the Ministry of Industry, Emmy Suryandari, stated that halal certification from foreign halal certification bodies (LHLN) in the US can be recognised in Indonesia, provided that the body is registered with the Halal Product Guarantee Organising Agency (BPJPH).
“Products from the United States must still be halal. Certification can be carried out in the country of origin, and then registered in Indonesia,” she said when met in Jakarta on Tuesday.
On the same occasion, the Head of the Halal Industry Centre at the Ministry of Industry, Kris Sasono, explained that there are currently five LHLNs in the US that are recognised by the BPJPH.
He said that with the MRA, products that have already been halal-certified in the country of origin do not need to repeat the full certification process in Indonesia, but only need to undergo registration.
“They use their own halal logo, but when the products arrive here, they will also have our halal logo. This is what has been happening up to now,” said Kris.
Kris added that monitoring will continue to be carried out periodically because the MRA has a limited validity period, ranging from two to four years.
He explained that Indonesia has established MRAs with approximately 38 countries, involving 102 foreign halal bodies. He cited that in the United States, there are five halal bodies recognised by the BPJPH, while in China there are eight, and in Australia there are 13.
In the Indonesia-US trade agreement, the Indonesian government is committed to addressing various non-tariff barriers, such as exempting US companies and goods from local content requirements, accepting US federal motor vehicle safety and emission standards, accepting FDA standards for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, eliminating burdensome certification and labelling requirements, and eliminating pre-shipment requirements.