Kemenag asks MBG kitchen in West Kalimantan to handle halal certificates

JAKARTA - The Bengkayang Regency Office of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) in West Kalimantan wants all the kitchens of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG) which organizes the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to immediately take care of halal certification to ensure the safety and halal of food for beneficiaries.

"The Bengkayang Ministry of Religion considers halal certification to be an important part of strengthening the governance of the MBG program so that food services distributed to the public, especially students, not only meet nutritional and hygiene standards, but also comply with halal product assurance provisions," said Kasubbag Tata Usaha Kemenag Bengkayang Ilyasak in a socialization of halal certification for SPPG kitchens in Bengkayang Regency, Thursday, quoted by Antara.

He emphasized that his party was ready to provide full assistance to the SPPG kitchen managers at every stage of the certification process. According to him, all MBG provider kitchens must ensure that the food served is halal, healthy, and nutritious.

"We all support the government program. The SPPG kitchen in Bengkayang must have a halal certificate. Later we will accompany it until it is completed," said Ilyasak.

He explained that the fulfillment of halal certification is also a form of compliance with regulations, as well as a preventive step to ensure the quality of food products distributed in government programs.

This activity is an implementation of Law Number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee (JPH) which requires products circulating in Indonesia to have a halal certificate, including food distributed through public service programs such as MBG.

He also mentioned that cross-sector synergy was needed to accelerate the completion of the SPPG kitchen halal certification. He hopes that halal certification can be understood as an effort to protect consumers and improve the quality of MBG services, as well as ensure that the food provided for the community is truly safe, healthy, and in accordance with halal regulations.

Head of Staff of Kodim 0826/Bengkayang Mayor Cpl Suwandi said that the MBG program has been able to build public confidence in the program, especially by ensuring that residents are not hesitant about the food they consume.

"We want people not to worry about the food they consume," he said.

He added that compliance with halal certification is not only an administrative obligation, but also a moral responsibility for food service providers. Therefore, he asked all SPPG kitchen managers to follow up on the socialization in a concrete manner.

"Halal certification is mandatory and absolute for all SPPG kitchens to follow. This is our form of responsibility to the community," he said.