'Halal' auditing introduced for food, cosmetics firms
'Halal' auditing introduced for food, cosmetics firms
JAKARTA (JP): The institute authorized to issue halal
(permissible under Islamic teaching) certificates moved Moslems a
step closer to peace of mind by introducing an "internal halal
auditing" program.
Chairperson of the institute for the assessment of food,
medicine and cosmetics of Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), Dr.
Aisjah Girindra, said her office will ensure that halal
certificates remain valid through their two year terms by
training in-house "auditors" at production facilities.
Speaking in the opening of a five-day halal food, drug and
cosmetics exhibition in the Istiqlal Mosque yesterday, Aisjah
said the auditors will record and trace "any elements introduced
to the production process which are not part of the standard
halal procedures".
The auditors will also be responsible in taking corrective
measures against violators and keeping records of them, she said.
The halal products exhibition displayed various products from
27 food, drug and cosmetic companies which have received their
halal certificates over the past year. Among the companies were
Unilever, Coca Cola, and Indomilk, which received a halal
certificate yesterday.
"The exhibition is a display of what the institute has
achieved in the past year. The number of (certified) products is
not large, because what we are doing is not an overnight job,"
Aisjah said.
A halal label is issued by Komisi Fatwa, a commission in the
MUI in charge of issuing religious decrees, only after the
institute inspects things like raw materials, production process
and storage.
"There is a very long process involved, which is why it takes
us a long time to issue the label," Aisjah told The Jakarta Post.
Moslems, who comprise an estimated 85 percent of Indonesia's
190 million people, regard consumer products containing certain
substances such as pork as haram, or forbidden under Islamic
doctrine.
The Koran forbids Moslems from eating "carcass, blood, pork,
animals slaughtered for names other than Allah" and alcohol.
The job to detect and inspect products can be very
complicated, especially for products sold in fast food outlets,"
she said.
Alternatives
"This calls for advanced food technology. However, if we find
something in the technology which does not agree with Islamic
laws, then we have to find alternatives," she said.
"The institute's efforts in inspecting whether certain foods,
cosmetics or drugs are halal should be supported, and its results
should be disseminated in order to reassure the predominantly
Moslem public," MUI chairman K.H. Hasan Basri said.
The demand for halal labeling rose following a major uproar in
1988 that was triggered by an East Javanese academic's finding
that many food products, including biscuits and milk, contained
pork.
The government has been supportive of the labeling efforts and
issued a presidential decree in 1992 requiring all food, drink,
medicine and cosmetic manufacturers to include halal labels in
their product packaging.
The ulemas council has also taken a step further in its
campaign for halal labeling by asking other countries for their
cooperation in studying the validity of halal labeling for
imported products.
So far, it has contacted the New Zealand Meat Management
organization, the Australian Federation of Islamic Community and
Japan.
MUI used yesterday's occasion to present a halal certificate
to Indomilk, a manufacturer of sweetened milk and margarine.
(swe)