Babel Requires Culinary Business To Pocket Halal Certificates

UNSPLASH/Hermes Rivera ILLUSTRATION

PANGKALPINANG - Bangka Belitung Islands Ministry of Religion requires all culinary business actors to have a halal certificate, in order to provide security, safety and halal guarantees for these food and beverage products.

"Currently, only a few percent of restaurants and other food business actors are following the government's direction regarding this halal product certificate," said Acting Head of Islamic Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religion of the Babel Islands, Iwan Nita, during the opening of the HokBen outlet in Pangkalpinang, reported by ANTARA, Saturday, July 15.

He said business actors who trade food and drinks must have a halal certificate based on Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Certificate Obligations for Halal Products.

In addition, the obligation of culinary business actors to have a halal certificate is a follow-up to the direction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo who wants Indonesia in 2024 as the number one halal country in the world.

"Mr. President Jokowi is quite disappointed that in recent years, Indonesia is number 4 halal in the world or below Singapore, Thailand and Japan," he said.

According to him, this halal certified obligation is a form of government involvement to provide comfort, security, safety and certainty of the availability of halal products for the community.

"There are two mechanisms in halal certification, namely halal certification of self declare and regular halal certification," he said.

He appreciated HokBen for having a halal product certificate and this is expected to be an example for modern restaurants and small and small culinary businesses to immediately take care of their halal product certificates.

"We have socialized this halal certificate obligation law in recent years and it is hoped that all food and beverage products in 2024 will have a halal certificate," he said.