By: Ir. Muti Arintawati, M.Si
President Director of LPPOM MUI
Question:
Assalamu’alaikum
Our family and I have eaten several times at a restaurant in the Cibubur area, East Jakarta. Apart from Cibubur, restaurants with the concept of shabu-shabu and grill are also found in other regions of Indonesia.
At first, we believed in the halalness of the food menu at the restaurant since there was a guarantee that the restaurant’s main dishes, namely beef and chicken, were guaranteed to be halal. The halal guarantee is written in the form of a banner posted at the raw material storage warehouse, which states that they use halal materials.
However, some time ago, there were viral complaints and testimonies from visitors at one of these restaurant branches who stated that there were ingredients (spices) whose halal status was doubtful. Therefore, our family also became doubtful. The question is, how do consumers respond to things like that? Is it only to see the halal menu in a restaurant from the main menu, in this case, the meat served? Do spices, and other ingredient mixtures must also be checked for halal status?
Thanks for the answer and explanation.
Wassalamu’alaikum
Fitri Cahyani
Cibubur, East Jakarta
Answer:
Waalaikumsalam
Thank you for the questions submitted. Related to this, as a consumer, you must be more careful in choosing food, including a restaurant. Make sure that the food we are about to consume is guaranteed to be halal.
Although there are statutory provisions, Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Guarantees for Halal Products stipulates that all products circulating in Indonesia must be halal certified. This obligation is still in a phase where food and beverage are given until 2024. Therefore, today there are still many products, including restaurants, that still need to be halal certified.
On the other hand, restaurant managers claim that the menu served is halal, like the case mentioned above. The restaurant still needs to obtain a halal certificate, and there may be doubts about the ingredients.
Whether the menu served in a restaurant must be halal as a whole, the principle of halal cannot be a half part. Halal food can become haram if mixed or contaminated with ingredients, even in minimal amounts. So, all materials used, both raw materials, additional materials and auxiliary materials in any part, must be guaranteed to be halal.
The halalness of materials can be proven through supporting documents, either in the form of halal certificates from recognized institutions for animal-derived materials and other highly critical materials or other documents such as material specifications or material manufacturing process flows.
Apart from materials, in HAS 23000, there are also requirements for production facilities and products. Production facilities must ensure no cross-contamination with unclean/unclean ingredients/products. The restaurant or catering kitchen is only devoted to halal production. Likewise, serving facilities and equipment are dedicated only to helping halal products.
As for products, some requirements prohibit the naming of using names that lead to something forbidden or evil. The product’s aroma, taste and shape may not imitate haram products or those declared haram based on the MUI fatwa.
Those are the answers and explanations we can convey; we expect it answers your questions. Thank You.
Wassalamu’alaikum
