On 'halal' certification
On 'halal' certification
From Koran Tempo
The issuance by the Minister of Religious Affairs of Decrees No.519/2001 and No.525/2001 on the appointment of the Agency for the Monitoring and Supervision of Foodstuffs and Drugs attached to the Indonesian Ulemas Council (LPPOM-MUI) as the only agency giving halal (permitted by Islamic law) certificates, and the choice of State-owned security printing company (Perum Peruri) as the only company allowed to print halal labels has created an unfair and illogical system of halal certification.
Besides, these two decrees differ substantively from Government Regulation No.69/1999 on food labeling and advertising as the regulation says that every food product with a halal label is obliged to undergo checking by an accredited certification agency. This is designed to ensure a transparent system of certification. After considering the advice of the religious institution in question, the minister of religious affairs only has the duty of accreditation in this respect.
The minister of religious affairs should have given his green light to some other certification institutions instead of choosing LPPOM-MUI as the only agency issuing halal certificates. In this regard, LPPOM-MUI has come to monopolize the halal certification.
This monopoly system is likely to disadvantage consumers and force them to believe in just one certification agency. So, if consumers have any doubts about an audit conducted by the agency, they can do nothing.
The current monopoly on the labeling system today has also made it easy for tricks to be played as regards the fee for the certification test. The fee is relatively high, especially for small- and medium-scale producers. As a result, the price of products will become higher at the consumer end. Besides, buyers will also have to cover the fees for uniformity of labeling by Perum Peruri.
Given the conditions referred to above, there is no other choice except to review the current certification systems and regulations, and to decentralize the authority for halal certification to a number of institutions. In this way it will be possible for people to select which institution they can trust for this purpose.
AS'AD NUGROHO
Consumers Advocacy Program Coordinator
Jakarta