Recently, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights appealed for mandatory halal certification for prison kitchens. This aligns with implementing the Halal Product Assurance Act, which the Government is massively promoting. LPPOM welcomes this step very well.
The Government is actively implementing mandatory halal certification for all products circulating in Indonesia in various aspects, especially for the food and beverage category, which is entering the nearest grace period, namely October 17, 2024, for medium and large industrial scales.
Due to this regulation and the importance of halal assurance for all Muslims, the kitchens of the Correctional Institutions are one of those that need to be halal certified. The Ministry of Law and Human Rights, through the Letter of the Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Indonesia Number: Und.36/Seskab/DKK/05/2024 issued on May 14, appealed to Correctional Institutions (Lapas) to carry out halal certification for their kitchens. This appeal is a form of support for the implementation of halal assurance for the Muslim community, especially in prisons. The Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (LPPOM), as one of Indonesia’s Halal Inspection Body (LPH), strongly supports this to guarantee halal food and beverages for prisoners.
To explore this further, the Halal Journal Team has interviewed the Director of Health Care and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Elly Yuzar. Let’s see the following review.
How many prisons in Indonesia? How many kitchens are halal certified?
There are a total of 532 Correctional Institutions (Lapas) / State Detention Centers (Rutan) / Special Child Development Institutions (LPKA) work units, all of which have food or kitchen services. As of August 16, 2024, of that number, 126 prisons have had halal certificates. This progress is quite fast, even though the letter we distributed was only an appeal.
Why an appeal? Because taking care of a halal certificate requires costs, we do not know the availability of costs in each prison. However, it is not impossible that in 2025, a letter will be issued in the form of instructions with the possibility of budget allocation next year.
Why did the Ministry of Law and Human Rights issue this warning?
We see from the number of our inmates as of today (August 16, 2024) a total of 270,094 residents. There were Muslims and non-Muslims. It turns out that there are 240,361 Muslims. This means that 88.99% are Muslim.
Of course, this is closely related to food provision. We must ensure that the food provided is according to the rules of each religion. Regarding Islam, all food and drinks consumed must be halal.
In addition, this appeal is also a form of implementation of the mandate of Act No. 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Assurance (JPH) and a follow-up to President Joko Widodo’s direction to accelerate halal certification. On that basis, we wrote to all our work units to follow up on the act and then accelerate halal certification.
Why is halal certification considered important to be implemented in prisons?
We can guarantee that the food ingredients that enter the kitchens of prisons, detention centres, and LPKA are all halal. Even though one area is predominantly non-Muslim, the procurement of food ingredients is all halal. We only allow beef and chicken to enter for meat, no pork. The existence of the halal label is a form of public accountability, so a third party must check it.
Are there certain prison areas that are a priority for the program?
We leave it all up to you, there are no areas that are specifically focused on, and everyone is responsive.
Are there any time targets and program achievements? For example, must the end of 2024 be completed?
Talking about targets, in 2025, we hope all prisons, detention centres and LPKA will be halal certified. Currently, progress is still ongoing. Each work unit is still trying to prepare its budget. This appeal came out in the current year’s budget, while we are optimistic that we can get a budget allocation for halal certification next year.
However, we hope halal certification in prison kitchens is not treated like profitable food service providers like restaurants or hotel kitchens. Our service is zero rupiah. The prisoners eat and drink, not even one rupiah is paid. Once receiving rupiah, there will be sanctions for the work unit that receives it.
This halal certification is the same as when we apply for a clinic permit from the Ministry of Health, a healthy kitchen hygiene certificate from the Health Office, and the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) issued by the National Standardization Agency (BSN) for rehabilitation services.
Initially, we were treated the same as private companies with large-cost applications. Then, we stated that we would make no profit from our work unit. Finally, we were given specialization in terms of costs. On the other hand, we strive to ensure that all the services we provide have been standardized and recognized by the state.
What are your expectations after the issuance of the appeal?
I appreciate all parties who have encouraged the realization of halal certification in prisons. My hope in the future is that friends who work in the regions can immediately follow up on the appeal. By 2025, everything will be finished. (YN)
Source: Halal Journal Edition 169 https://halalmui.org/jurnal-halal/169/
