Most food, medicine not 'halal': MUI

JAKARTA: Only 12 percent of 7,000 food products and medicine sold in the country are certified as halal (permitted under Islamic law) by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

MUI secretary-general Din Syamsuddin said on Tuesday the council had called on all companies to obtain halal certificates "in order not to spark anxiety among Muslims".

Din also expressed his concern over certain companies that claimed their products were halal without presenting them for tests at the council's directorate of food and medicine research and study.

The council recommended that people access its website www.halalmui.co.id to obtain a list of halal products.

Products missing from the list include Bintang beer zero alcohol, food from Hoka-hoka Bento and bread from Bread Talk. -- Antara