ISNU East Java Trains Dozens of Professional Halal Slaughterers

The national demand for certified halal slaughterers reaches tens of thousands of people. Surabaya (ANTARA) - The Nahdlatul Ulama Scholars Association (ISNU) East Java has trained dozens of professional halal slaughterers through training and competency assessments in Surabaya to strengthen the upstream sector of the halal industry and meet the limited national need for certified slaughterers. “We selected participants from districts and cities across East Java to obtain professional halal slaughterers. And alhamdulillah, the participants were declared competent by the BNSP assessors,” said the Secretary of the Regional Management (PW) ISNU East Java, Muhammad Dawud, in a statement in Surabaya on Monday. A total of 35 PW and Branch Management (PC) ISNU officials from across East Java attended the two-day halal slaughterer training and competency test on Saturday-Sunday (2-3/5) at Surabaya Suites Hotel. The participants received training on animal slaughtering materials in accordance with sharia and technical standards, as well as practical slaughtering at the Pegirian Surabaya Animal Slaughterhouse (RPH). However, the number of competent personnel available remains limited to date, even though the halal status of animal food products is highly determined by the slaughtering process. According to him, halal certification of food products does not only depend on the production process but also on slaughtering methods that comply with sharia and technical standards. “Therefore, ISNU East Java is striving to prepare human resources with competencies in halal product assurance,” he stated. According to him, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members need to actively participate in the halal industry, including in the upstream sector of animal food supply. “ISNU can reach the grassroots level of society, which mostly consists of Nahdliyin members. Thus, the public will no longer doubt the halal status of meats and chickens sold in markets,” said the caregiver of Raudlatul Ulum Pesantren in Suramadu. Ma’ruf Khozin assessed that ISNU cannot only operate in the fields of da’wah and education but also needs to enter the halal industry value chain professionally and systematically. Previously, ISNU East Java has assisted micro and small business actors in obtaining around 200,000 halal certificates through the ISNU Halal Solution Agency (LSH), which is an official Halal Product Process Assistant (P3H). Now, ISNU East Java is strengthening the upstream sector’s capacity through the training of certified halal slaughterers as the initial link in the halal industry.