TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
MSMEs struggle to understand, comply with halal certification
One business owner said Indonesia did not need to make halal certification mandatory since the country is predominantly Muslim and she was confident that people, even outside of Islam, would not serve or let a Muslim person eat haram food.
Change Size
Palembang deputy mayor Fitrianti Agustinda (second from left) checks on imported instant noodles' halal labeling at a shopping center in Palembang in South Sumatra. (Antara/Nova Wahyudi)
A
s the country’s Halal Product Guarantee Law took effect last week, some micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the food and beverages (F&B) sector were still in the dark about the new regulations.
The law stipulates that all non-haram products and services must obtain halal certification. It also shifts halal certification authority from the Indonesian Ulema Council Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (LPPOM MUI) to the Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH) under the Religious Affairs Ministry.
Randhy Nugroho, owner of the Sedjoli home-based pastries and coffee shop in South Jakarta, said that he did not fully understand the new halal certification registration procedure and that many aspects of it were complicated.
“The new institutions are overlapping and the BPJPH’s role is redundant,” he said.
He was referring to the process that required people to pay three separate institutions for the certification, namely the BPJPH, the halal product guarantor agencies (LPH) and MUI.
The 28-year-old told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that micro and small entrepreneurs such as himself need to get subsidies to help pay for the certificate.
“Subsidies are especially important for street vendors because the certification can burden them financially,” he said.
