The Government has enacted Act No. 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Assurance (UU JPH). This obligation states that products entering, circulating and trading in Indonesia’s territory must be halal certified, including imported products from abroad.
Marketing & Networking Manager of LPPOM, Cucu Rina Purwaningrum, S.TP, MP., conveyed this in a seminar themed “Halal Mandatory 2024: What Should Food Distributors and Importers Prepare?” held by LPPOM at the Food and Hospitality Indonesia (FHI) exhibition in collaboration with PT Pamerindo Indonesia at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) on July 24, 2024.
“The main focus on halal certification of imported products is not only to comply with existing regulations in Indonesia, the increasing demand for halal products is also why it is time for distributors to require halal certificates so that Muslim consumers get a guarantee of them. So far, the Government has established two halal certification pathways, self-declare and regular,” said Cucu.
He said that the Muslim population in Indonesia who are Muslim is around 236 million people. In line with that, halal products in Indonesia, such as food, beverages, medicines, and cosmetics, continue to increase. This can be an opportunity for international halal product producers and/or importers to provide imported halal products, and it is estimated that demand will continue to increase yearly.
LPPOM is ready to assist every importer business actor in the global halal certification process quickly, efficiently and affordably. This is to ensure the availability of halal products for the community and to create a sense of security and comfort for Muslim consumers in Indonesia when consuming every imported product that comes in. LPPOM also provides various supporting services, such as laboratory tests for SNI and vegan purposes.
“Indonesia itself has the largest halal product transaction value in the world. Other countries have also experienced increased awareness of the increasing need for halal products. This can open up opportunities for foreign producers to develop their businesses in the Indonesian market,” said Cucu, a halal auditor for LPPOM.
He emphasized that the halal certification obligation regulation is the responsibility of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH). Meanwhile, the decision on the halal certification fatwa is under the responsibility of the Fatwa Commission of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (KF MUI). Of course, the decision on the halal certification fatwa can be decided based on the results of the audit report conducted by the Halal Inspection Body (LPH), one of which is LPPOM.
This halal certificate can be a good investment because it no longer contains a validity period or is permanent. To meet the requirements, business actors must complete an application letter to the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH), a letter of appointment of a halal supervisor, a risk-based Business Identification Number (NIB), and other documents.
Suppose the administration and audit have been carried out. In that case, business actors will receive a halal certificate that is valid forever if there are no changes to the ingredients and composition. This period provision is undoubtedly attractive to business actors. Regarding regulations, in the Halal Product Assurance System (SJPH), a surveillance or supervision scheme is used to ensure the consistency of SJPH implementation.
The FHI Exhibition is one of Indonesia’s food and beverage, hospitality, and tourism industry exhibitions. This year, FHI officially opened on 23-26 July 2024 at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo). Visitors can explore more than 1,000 brands of trade products from various categories, including food, meat, frozen food, drinks, coffee and tea, and other service and hospitality products.
This event was warmly welcomed by thousands of prospective visitors, from business people to professionals who had pre-registered to be able to establish business connections with more than 500 companies from 20 countries and 7 country pavilions from the United States (US), China, India, Germany, Malaysia, South Korea (South Korea), and Thailand. Of course, LPPOM was present at this event. Visitors can consult with LPPOM regarding halal laboratories and halal certification in Hall A3 Booth No. 3307.
Currently, LPPOM continues to encourage government efforts to realize halal obligations in various efforts, ranging from educating business actors to several programs to facilitate business actors in carrying out halal certification, including for free. LPPOM also provides a platform that makes it easy for consumers, both business actors and the public, to check products that already have halal certificates.
You can check the halalness of a product through the website www.halalmui.org or the Halal MUI application, which can be downloaded from the Google Playstore and the BPJPH website. Business actors who have food products and have not registered for certification should immediately register and choose LPH LPPOM to conduct halal checks to meet the regulations set by the Government. LPPOM also offers various lab test services for food safety and vegan claims. (ZUL)
