MUI states 'no pork no lard' label does not automatically guarantee halal status
The Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) for Fatwa, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, has emphasised that the use of ‘no pork no lard’ labels in restaurants does not automatically guarantee that the food served meets halal requirements.
“The ‘no pork, no lard’ label is more of a unilateral declaration by business owners. However, a menu that contains no pork and no lard cannot immediately be justified as a halal menu,” Asrorun Niam stated in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to him, the halal status of food is not only determined by the presence or absence of pork and its derivatives, but also encompasses raw materials as well as the processing and slaughtering methods.
“If the slaughtering process does not comply with Sharia law, even if there is no pork and the meat is clearly beef, if that beef was not slaughtered according to Sharia, it becomes haram and must not be consumed by Muslims,” he said.
He noted that a similar situation can occur with seafood. While fish is fundamentally halal, the processing method can affect the halal status of the dish.
“For example, if the menu is seafood, the fish is clearly halal, but it is processed in an unhalal manner—such as adding arrack, for instance, during the cooking process,” Asrorun explained.
Therefore, Asrorun emphasised that statements regarding the halal status of products should not be based solely on unilateral declarations by business owners, but must instead undergo an inspection process in accordance with halal certification regulations.
“Thus, it is not enough to simply have a unilateral declaration stating ‘no pork, no lard’ and then labelling it as halal without undergoing the formal inspection (halal certification) process,” he said.
He warned that providing halal information that does not reflect the actual conditions could lead to legal consequences. Consequently, he urged business owners to promptly certify their products to provide certainty and protection to consumers.