Wisdom needed in food labeling

Wisdom needed in food labeling

From Bisnis Indonesia

After reading some advertorials in Media Indonesia and
Bisnis Indonesia about halal (permitted according to Islamic
religion) and nutritious food (Nov. 19, 1996), I became confused.

The reason was that the ads did not clarify the matter
concerning halal labels on the one hand and the halal labels
printed by Peruri on the other.

As far as I know, such labels are printed on the original
package of the food products in line with a license or
certificate issued to the producer.

There is no relation to sticker printouts by Peruri. We are
afraid that this is just a veiled effort to commercialize food
labeling, as was the case with liquor and cigarettes, to the
disadvantage of manufacturers.

As a citizen, my observations of irresponsible parties who are
manipulating the Food Bill, drafted to protect Indonesian Moslem
consumers, only brought concern.

Food labeling in countries mentioned in the advertorial, such
as Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, is not done with stickers,
as in our beloved country.

FERRY RUSLI

Tangerang, West Java