A new piece of legislation has introduced significant changes to halal certification and compliance procedures in Indonesia.
The Halal Law was passed by the House of Representatives on 29 September 2014. Products subject to the law are food, beverage, drug, cosmetic, chemical, biological, and genetically engineered products. Under the law:
- it is mandatory for all such products that are imported, distributed, and sold in Indonesia to be identified as Halal or non-Halal (although there are no sanctions for failing to indicate a products is not halal); and
- a new agency - the Halal Product Guarantee Agency (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal - “BPJH") is established to issue halal certificates and take action against breaches of the Halal Law.
The BPJH replaces the MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia - Indonesian Ulema Council) as certifying body for halal products. The MUI was previously the only institution that could issue halal certificates in Indonesia. It still maintains a role supporting the BPJH user the new law. The BPJH will also take over enforcement responsibilities, previously handled by BPOM (Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan - National Agency of Food and Drug Control).
The centralisation of responsibilities with the BPJH will provide more certainty about procedures and costs, and is a positive step. However, the extensive coverage of the law (all food, beverage, drug, cosmetic, chemical, biological, and genetically engineered products) means that many businesses will need to re-evaluate their certification strategy. And watch out for amendments to the law introducing sanctions for non-compliance for failing to indicate a product is not halal.
