Pizza Hut gets 'halal' certificate

JAKARTA (JP): Pizza Hut of Indonesia received a halal (permissible by Islamic law) certificate from the Indonesian Ulemas Council yesterday after a two-year campaign.

The certificate, which has been sought by many foreign restaurants, was handed over by the head of the council's Fatwa Commission, Ibrahim Hosen, to Pizza's Hut country manager Kelvin Chen at one of its outlets in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

According to Chen, the decision to go halal was taken two years ago.

"The decision is not based on the increasing sales projection but simply because we respect the host country," he said. "If the host country is mostly populated by Moslems, then why can't we serve them with a halal menu?" Chen said.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's 200 million population is Moslem.

Nazri Adzani, the general secretary of the council's Food, Drug and Cosmetic Research Institute said the certification was not an instant process.

"We examine the whole process starting with the raw material and going through until it is processed and presented to the customers," he said.

The findings are then presented to the Fatwa Commission, which issues a decree whether on whether the products are halal.

Nazri said the council greatly appreciated the efforts made by the food and beverage industry to get halal certification.

"Food and beverages are the most substantive matters for human beings and therefore the need for high quality healthy conditions is very important."

Ibrahim Hosen said halal was not just a religious decision but also a matter of having a healthy attitude to consuming food.

Pizza Hut of Indonesia, which is run by PT Sarimelati Kencana, opened its first outlet in 1985. It now has 50 outlets, of which 31 are in Jakarta. (04)