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