October 4, 2024 | 09:57 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Ministry of Religious Affairs has issued a clarification regarding food products with names such as “tuyul” (ghost), “tuak” (traditional liquor), “beer”, and “wine” that have been certified as halal by the Halal Products Assurance Organizing Agency (BPJPH).
Mamat Salamet Burhanudin, the Head of the Halal Registration and Certification Center at BPJPH, explained that this issue stems from product naming rather than the halal status of the products themselves.
He emphasized that the public should have no worries as halal-certified products have undergone a rigorous certification process established by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Fatwa Commission or the Halal Product Fatwa Committee, adhering to applicable procedures.
The naming of halal products is subject to regulations, including SNI 99004:2021 and the MUI Fatwa Number 44 of 2020 concerning the use of names, forms, and packaging of products that cannot be halal certified.
“This means the public does not need to doubt the halal status of halal-certified products because they have undergone the halal certification process and obtained halal approval from the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa Commission or the Halal Product Fatwa Committee in accordance with the prescribed mechanism,” Mamat said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
However, there are still instances of products with the abovementioned names receiving halal certificates, primarily due to discrepancies in opinion between the MUI Fatwa Commission and the Halal Product Fatwa Committee regarding product naming.
Data from the Sihalal system reveals, for example, that 61 products with the name “wine” obtained halal certificates from the MUI Fatwa Commission, while 53 other products were certified by the Fatwa Committee. Similar disparities exist for products named “beer”, with 8 products certified by MUI and 14 by the Fatwa Committee.
Mamat added that products certified halal by the MUI Fatwa Commission have undergone strict examination and testing by the Halal Examination Institute (LPH), with most products being inspected by LPH LPPOM. The difference of opinion pertains solely to product naming and does not affect the halal nature of the substances or the production process.
Meanwhile, Asrorun Niam, the Chair of the MUI Fatwa Division, asserted that these products obtained halal certificates from BPJPH through the self-declare route without the audit of halal inspection agencies or the determination of halal status by the MUI Fatwa Commission, which constitutes a violation of MUI’s fatwa standards.
EIBEN HEIZAR | ANTARA
