Halal certification is not a difficult thing, as long as businesses understand the 11 criteria of the Halal Assurance System (HAS) and implement it properly and correctly. This was confirmed by the Deputy Director of LPPOM MUI, Ir. Osmena Gunawan, at the MUI halal certificate ceremony some time ago.
“If prepared from the beginning of the process, whatever the product will be easy to get halal certificates. The most important thing is to straighten out the intention that having a halal certificate is to calm the hearts of the people,” said Osmena.
One easy way that can be taken for halal certification is to find all raw materials with suppliers who are already halal certified. In addition, all production processes must comply with 11 of the HAS criteria. To understand this, LPPOM MUI recommends that all business people attend training.
In the end, the halal certification process will be the company’s own advantage. To get halal certificates, all production processes, both materials and documents must have written evidence, so that they can be easily traced (traceability). That way, companies must at least tidy up the flow of their product processes, SOPs, to bookkeeping business management. As a result, the risk for business actors being cheated by suppliers will be very small.
For example, how to cut meat to the way it serves meat to the hands of consumers must be clear. This is a very detailed process. No wonder many people say that halal certificates are like ISO +. That is, not just what the product standards are, but all matters relating to the ingredients of these products must be traceable.
“We’ve found, a company uses raw materials that are not in accordance with what the company ordered to its suppliers. Of course, this will not be discovered if there is no accounting and a good working system, ” explained Osmena.
In addition, the halal certificate for consumers is a distinct advantage. Moreover, now Muslim consumers have begun to be critical of the halal products they consume. Therefore, the existence of halal certificates will strengthen consumers to buy products.
“Not infrequently, a product or restaurant that has been halal-certified is growing because of the increasing demand for consumers in various regions. This is what we often don’t realize, “Osmena said.
After obtaining a halal certificate, the next challenge for businesses is to maintain consistency in the implementation of the SJH. Of course, this responsibility will be heavier because the product production process is no longer monitored for 24 hours by LPPOM MUI, but is handed over to the halal team of the company that has been formed at the beginning of the halal certification process.
If the company has get the HAS status with grade A three times, the company will get a Halal Assurance System certificate. This means that the company does not need to be audited anymore because in a document, whenever a halal auditor arrives, all can be tracked properly. (YN)
