The government continues intensifying the Mandatory Halal October (WHO) 2024 tagline. This is not without reason; the number of products that have not been certified halal is still quite large, and the deadline is approaching. The hotel sector is one of those that must comply with this regulation. Unfortunately, only 1.2% of restaurants in Indonesian hotels are halal certified. Can the hotel industry meet the existing regulations?
The grace period for mandatory halal certification expires on October 17, 2024. This applies to four products: food and beverages as end products; raw materials, additives, and auxiliary materials for food and beverages; services and slaughtered products; and all services related to the food and beverage process to consumers (maklon, logistics, retailers). Restaurants located in a hotel are included in this product category. Responding to this, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Maulana Yusran, said that the obligation to have halal certification for hotel restaurants is a very tough challenge for the hotel industry. This was conveyed in a seminar themed “The Future of Hospitality: Integrating Halal and Hygiene in Hotel and Restaurant” organized by the Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (LPPOM) on August 12, 2024, at the Sukarman Auditorium, National Library of the Republic of Indonesia.
The challenge in question is seen from the very large number of hotel businesses compared to the availability of Halal Inspection Body (LPH) in Indonesia. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that in early 2024, there were 4,125 hotels in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Sihalal data from the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) indicated that only 49 hotels or 1.2%, were halal certified. Among them, as many as 48 hotels conducted halal inspections through LPH LPPOM as an LPH that can perform inspections quickly, affordably and efficiently.
“Halal is related to the separation of halal, haram and hygiene. Initially, this was an extended service for hotels. The number of LPHs, especially in outer regions, is not enough to accommodate hotels in the regions. The impact is that the cost of halal certification becomes expensive because auditors are brought in from Java,” said Maulana.
Only LPPOM, he continued, has representative offices spread throughout Indonesia. The reason is that Maulana emphasized that there needs to be synergy between the Ministry of Religion, in this case, BPJPH, and the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) to encourage the ease of halal certification for hotel sector businesses.
Another challenge is surveillance; the hotel industry must follow existing trends. According to Maulana, hotel restaurants must change the menu and name according to the trend, even without changing the ingredients. This is difficult because every change requires a product development submission, ultimately increasing costs.
“The existence of this Halal Product Assurance regulation leaves many problems because the costs continue to increase. We are proposing a revision to the existing regulation. It must be seen how to carry out halal certification in large enough quantities, but the regulation must not create a dispute over the business itself,” he said.
Director of Partnership and Halal Audit Services at LPPOM, Muslich, hopes business actors can prepare well to welcome this halal certification obligation. He said that business actors do not need to worry about the time for halal certification.
The government has regulated the time for halal certification in Government Regulation (PP) No. 39 of 2014 concerning the Implementation of Halal Product Assurance. Articles 72 and 73 states that the maximum time for a domestic halal inspection and/or testing is 25 days, and abroad is 30 days.
Therefore, LPPOM has launched several programs to accelerate the halal certification process. As a result, LPPOM has met the target time for halal inspections set by the government, an average of 9 working days (data from June 2024).
In addition, LPPOM has 34 representative offices spread throughout Indonesia. This facilitates business actors in carrying out halal certification in various regions. Through CSR cooperation with multiple parties, LPPOM also carries out halal certification for free.
“We have practiced providing programs so that the target can be met. Regarding regulatory changes, it depends on the government. What can be done is to be prepared,” said Muslich.
Halal certification, he continued, ensures that materials come from pure sources and are not exposed to impurities during handling, which is proven during the audit process. Regarding hotel restaurants, of course, all of them can be certified halal as long as they do not produce alcohol or other haram ingredients.
“But if the hotel still wants to sell non-halal menus, this is permitted in the regulations. Of course, as long as the restaurant is different from the halal one (different production facilities and places) and the hotel clearly states that the product/menu is not halal,” explained Muslich.
The seminar “The Future of Hospitality: Integrating Halal and Hygiene in Hotel and Restaurant” is LPPOM’s step in educating business actors, especially in the hotel industry, regarding the importance of halal certification in meeting current regulations. Present at this event were LPPOM MUI Laboratory Expert Priyo Wahyudi, Corporate Marketing Manager of Alia Hotel Management, Nikko Rosanno, and AVP of QAQC Kenangan Group, Sally Rachmatika.
LPPOM always opens a discussion space for every business actor whose products have not yet been halal certified through the Customer Care service at Call Center 14056 or WhatsApp 0811-1148-696. In addition, you can learn more about the flow and process of halal certification by attending the Introduction to Halal Certification (PSH) class, which is held routinely every week. You can register using the following link: https://halalmui.org/pengenalan-sertifikasi-halal/.
To facilitate consumers and business actors in finding references for halal products, LPPOM provides a platform for Searching for Halal Products that can be accessed quickly, efficiently and for free via the website www.halalmui.org or the Halal MUI application that can be downloaded on the Google Playstore, as well as the BPJPH website. LPPOM Massively, LPPOM also conducts halal education delivered via LPPOM social media (@lppom_mui). (YN)
