'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)