The Ajinomoto case

Thank the holiday season and the good sense of all the parties involved for the fact that, for once, an argument involving religious principles did not get blown out of proportion and prompt street protests.

The argument, this time, involves the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) on one side and PT Ajinomoto, the producer of the widely popular taste enhancer of the same name on the other. It concerns the question of whether the product is halal or haram to Muslims -- in other words whether Muslims are allowed or forbidden to use it in their food.

Guardian of religious morality and fidelity in a country where the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim, the Council is empowered by the government to review the halal certificates which must be stamped on the packages of all food and beverage products that are sold in this country and which Muslims are allowed to consume. Since producers may change the ingredients contained in their products, these certificates are reviewed every two years.

What the Council says it has found in this year's re-audit of the Ajinomoto taste enhancer is that the company is now using the bactosoytone pig enzyme in its production process instead of the polypeptone enzyme it used in the past. The reason is that while both enzymes can be used as a medium to cultivate the bacteria needed to produce the compounds necessary for the production of the enhancer, the bactosoytone enzyme produces more bacteria and thus also more compounds. Some experts have argued that this is not really a problem since the pig enzyme does not actually get into the product. It is used only to grow the bacteria and is not included in the bacteria.

This, however, is not an argument that Muslims can generally accept. "Who can guarantee that?" MUI chairman Amidhan retorted. "It is like growing plants on filth." Since pork and any product derived from pigs, Amidhan insists that the company takes its product off the shelves until a new product is brought on the market that is free of any derivative coming from pigs.

The government, through the Ministry of Health's Director- General for Food and Drug Control, Sampurno, has taken a middle road and advised the public not to jump to conclusions.

"This needs to be examined further through biochemical analysis. This is a sensitive issue and we shouldn't jump to conclusions and condemn the product," he said.

Indeed it is sensitive -- the issue involves major religious principles. In Amidhan's words, while there is still no conclusive evidence, the case is classified as dubious, and in Islam, things that are dubious or doubtful had better be forbidden.

For the government, on the other hand, the issue concerns a product that is popular throughout the country and banning it could have major economic consequences, both for the company and for the state. Thus, it is important to tread carefully. Fortunately, the Ajinomoto company has had the good sense to pay serious heed to the MUI's demands, thereby avoiding a possible confrontation. It has changed its bacterium growing medium to a plant derivative while promising to withdraw its dubious products from the market.

What all this has shown us is how lax, or weak, the Ministry of Health's Food and Drug Control Directorate-General's control is over products being consumed by the Indonesian people. In this particular case the government agency should have issued an early warning to the Ajinomoto company not to use bacteria breeding agents that could offend Muslims, who after all make up the overwhelming majority of this country's population.